Past is Prologue
by Naitch03
Summary: We all have regrets. But one person now has the power to do something about it. 25 Years in the future Thea Queen, the Green Arrow, has gathered the most important people in her (and her brother's) lives from the past for one purpose- the change the Past. Join them as they watch the first two years of Oliver's journey to become the first Green Arrow.Rated T for language & Violence
1. Chapter 0- Prologue

The Nature Boy Proudly Presents:

**Past is Prologue**

**By Naitch03**

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><p><strong>Dramatis Personae<strong>

**Future League Members**

Mia Dearden/Thea Queen- **The Green Arrow**

Dinah Laurel Lance- **The Black Canary**

Sara Lance- **The Canary**

Roy Harper- **Arsenal**

Stephanie Brown- **Batgirl**

Rose Wilson- **Ravager**

Dick Grayson- **Batman**

Bruce Wayne-** Batman (Semi-Active)**

Tim Drake- **Red Robin**

Cassandra Cain- **Black Bat**

J'on J'onz- **The Martian Manhunter**

Clark Kent- **Superman (Semi-Active)**

Connor Kent- **Superman II**

Diana Prince- **Wonder Woman (Semi-Active)**

Cassie Sandsmark- **Wonder Woman II**

Victor Stone- **Cyborg**

Barry Allen- **The Flash (Semi-Active)**

Wally West- **The Flash II**

Hal Jordan- **Green Lantern**

Kyle Rayner-** Green Lantern**

Barbara Gordon- **Oracle**

**Viewing Party**

Thea Queen

Moira Queen

Malcolm Merlyn

Tommy Merlyn

Laurel Lance

Quentin Lance

John Diggle

Felicity Smoake

Slade Wilson

**Also starring:**

Oliver Queen- **The Hood/The Arrow**

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><p>See long Author's Note at the end of this chapter.<p>

**Disclaimer: **Arrow is owned by Berlanti Productions, DC Comics, and Warner Brothers Entertainment. I own nothing.

**Prologue**

**The Watchtower, 2039**

In high orbit around the Planet called earth, there were many satellites. Some were for communications. Some were to track weather. Some were for spying. But one satellite stood out from all the rest-

The Watchtower.

Built for the Justice League by a combined effort of Wayne Enterprises, Kord Industries and Queen Industries, The Watchtower was a satellite by definition only. 10 separate levels, dozens of rooms for meetings or training, a League-only museum and an impressive cache of weapons, all powered by a binary-fusion reactor built from designs given from Superman's Fortress of Solitude. Even in this modern future filled with marvels defying explanation or description, the Watchtower was a marvel unto itself.

It had seen a lot of history- from repelling alien invasions, to hosting political delegations. Today, it would make history one last time by playing host to a different gathering of people.

The first to arrive was Malcolm Merlyn. Dressed impeccably in a dark grey suit, he stumbled a bit and felt a brief wave of nausea pass through him. Quickly he righted himself and spun around; trying to deduce his new surroundings, but the sight stopped him cold. Slowly he walked forward, off of a raised dais, he noted absently, and made his way to the giant windows- which showed Earth far, far below them.

Not many things provoked a positive emotional response from Malcolm Merlyn these days; ever since his wife had been brutally murdered he had been cold- distant even- to everyone, including his son. But the sight before him was so… breathtaking, a feeling he hadn't felt in a long time welled up inside of him- the felling of wonderment and, perhaps, even joy. Then he remembered he had no idea where he was and how he had gotten there, and he clamped down HARD on his emotions and tried to take stock of his situation. Before he could, though, he heard a loud hum behind him. He spun around and faced the platform in time to see two figures coalesce from a bluish-white light.

One minute Moira Dearden Queen had been half-heartedly lecturing her daughter, Thea Dearden Queen- who was more than obviously ignoring her- and the next they were standing on a raised platform in a very high-tech looking room with a window view of earth and-

"Malcolm?" Moira asked shakily. Thea had plopped down as the nausea hit her.

"Whoa, I've had better bad trips than this." She mumbled to herself. Luckily her mother was too preoccupied to be listening.

"What is this? What's going on?" Moira demanded. Malcolm held up his hands and shook his head.

"I don't know, Moira." He started. "One minute I was in my office on a conference call; the next I'm standing here." He gave them a minute to take in all that was around them. Thea gave a muted "Holy shit!" when she saw Earth in the window. "As outlandish as it sounds, judging by the technology around us and the manner of our arrival, I believe we are in the future."

Thea arched an eyebrow in a strangely familiar way. "Really? We're going right to 'Future Space Station'?"

Malcolm looked at the young woman. "Do you have a better explanation?" he asked pointedly. Thea paused for a moment, before seeming to deflate slightly.

"No, but still… this is all kinds of crazy." Malcolm smiled at the young girl. He could tell she was terrified, but she hid it behind a mask of defiance that he admired. He looked up as the lights dimmed again and the transport pad lit up once more. The three watched as a new figure coalesced- into Tommy Merlyn, who arrived in a sitting position; he promptly fell back on his rear end, causing Thea to burst out laughing. "What the hell?!" Tommy exclaimed, quickly climbing to his feet. He quickly spotted his father. "Dad, what the hell…"

"We have no idea." Malcolm replied.

"Holy shit, is that Earth?" he started, walking off the pad and towards the window. He stopped as he finally noticed the other two occupants of the room. "Mrs. Queen? Thea? Are you two-"

"We're fine, Tommy." Moira said.

"Nice entrance." Thea added, snickering; the humor of Tommy's arrival momentarily distracting her from her fear.

"Thanks, Speedy." Tommy replied. "I was at a stoplight." He looked around again. "Where are we?"

"Future space station." Thea stated, and Tommy shot her a look.

"Really? We're starting there?"

"Do you have a better explanation?" Malcolm asked patiently. Tommy opened his mouth for a second, then closed it and shook his head.

"Nope, works for me." He said. Once more the lights dimmed and the pad lit up. "Whoa, cool…"

Another figure appeared- a tall, well-built black man dressed in a dark suit. He stumbled, but instantly spun around looking for threats even as his hand went to his waist for his gun- which he found wasn't there.

"What the hell…" he looked down in confusion where his sidearm should be, then looked back up to the small assembled group, "Who are you people? What's going on here?"

Malcolm held up a placating hand, subtly moving in front of Tommy and Thea. "Easy there. My name is Malcolm Merlyn. We don't know what's going on, exactly. Up until this moment, I thought this may have something to do with our families, but I don't believe any of us know you." He looked back, the rest of them shook their heads. "All we know now is that all of us have been abducted, and we appear to be in the future." He put his hand down. "Now, who are you?"

"John Diggle." The man finally said. He looked at the other three people, and then spotted the Earth in the window. "Oh, my god…"

"Yeah, we had similar reactions," Tommy said, holding out his hand. "Tommy Merlyn."

Diggle grasped his hand. "Nice to meet you, I suppose."

"You a cop?"

"Private security consultant."

The platform lit up again, and once more two figures appeared in the blue-white light. When the light cleared, Quentin and Laurel Lance stood there. Laurel stumbled a bit and Quentin caught her, even as his hand went for his side arm- which wasn't there.

"Quentin!" Moira exclaimed.

"Moira Queen?" he asked in confusion, looking at the group. "What the hell is going on? Where are we?"

"You okay, Laurel?" Tommy asked, lending the lawyer a steadying hand. Laurel looked at him in confusion.

"Tommy? What's happening? Where are we?"

"No clue, and in a future space station, apparently."

"What?!" Quentin exclaimed. Moira put a calming hand on the cops shoulder.

"We don't know what's going on, or why we were all brought here."

"Well we all know each other," he started, and then looked at Diggle. "Except you. Who the hell are you?"

"John Diggle."

"Detective Quentin Lance, SCPD." His gaze was drawn to the window. "Oh, my god."

"Is that Earth?" Laurel asked, slightly breathless. Thea put a hand on her arm.

"Yeah. Kind of freaky, isn't it?" she said.

"I need a drink." Quentin declared, shaking his head.

"Me, too. Make mine a double." Thea said, drawing frowns from the adults. Laurel frowned at the girl.

"Thea, you're not even 21."

"And I'm a cop, young lady." Quentin added. "No underage drinking while I'm around."

Thea smirked. "The way I see it, if we're in the future, I'm probably over 21."

Tommy snorted. "I like the way you think, Speedy."

Laurel snorted in disgust. "If we are in the future, you could try to act like an adult for once, then."

The pad lit up, and once more he light discharged a new person. This one was a woman who appeared to be talking to herself.

"No Marv, just pull the hard drive and- wait. Hello?" the blond woman tapped at her earpiece, as if to re-establish the connection. "Hello? Marv…" her voice trailed off as she suddenly realized she wasn't in the same place she had been a few moments before. She slowly turned around to face a group of worried, but amused, people. "Hoo….boy,"

"Sister, I am right there with you." Thea said.

"Where am I? What's going- ooh, is that a fully-interactive holographic control panel?" she said suddenly, walking quickly past the group to the wall next to the door. She started fiddling with the panel, a delighted smile on her face. "Oh my god, it is! Oh, wow," she said, seeing the view of Earth for the first time. "I'm in space. This is a space station! But no floating, so that must mean- artificial gravity! Holy crap, I've died and gone to heaven!" she paused and looked back at the group in confusion. "but then, what are you all doing here?" she quickly realized how that must have sounded, so she hastily added, "Not that you wouldn't go to heaven, of course, because I'm sure most of you would- all of you would, I 'm jus saying that I always thought that Heaven was a personal thing, so what are all of you people, who I'm sure are nice and all, doing… 3,2,1." She took a breath. "Okay, getting a grip now."

Tommy laughed. "Look, Felicity-"

"Do I know you? Felicity asked suddenly, "How do you know my name?"

He pointed to her blouse, where her Queen Consolidated ID badge hung. "It's on your badge." She blushed.

"Of course it is…"

"All I'm trying to say is that you've taken this better than any of us." He held out his hand. "I'm Tommy, by the way. Tommy Merlyn." Both Thea and Laurel groaned.

"She's been here ten seconds and you're already trying to make a move. Smooth, Merlyn." Laurel said in disgust. Tommy looked affronted.

"I'm introducing myself!" he exclaimed.

Before Thea could offer her own opinion, the lights dimmed and the pad lit up again. Felicity gave another "Ooh!" as a final figure appeared. Once the pad died down, the man quickly spun around and crouched low, glancing around and assessing any threats. Malcolm took one look at him, and knew he was dangerous. Slowly he moved so that he was blocking both Felicity and Thea, even as Quentin moved in front of Moira and Laurel.

"What is this?" The man demanded. He was older, with streaks of grey in his hair and goatee; one eye peering dangerously as the other was covered by an eye patch. "Who are you? What do you want?"

"Easy, friend," Malcolm started.

"I'm not your friend!" The man snarled back.

"And I'm not your enemy. None of us are." Malcolm replied. "We were all brought here by someone or something else…"

"Yeah?" the man said, standing up straight. He too was dressed in a tailored suit; though to Malcolm's practiced eye, he could tell how uncomfortable it made him feel. "Well why don't we find out who or what did this, so I can-"

"Do nothing."

The voice came from behind the group, and everyone spun around to see a peculiar sight. Standing in the now open door in profile was a person in green leather, a green hood pulled up over their head and obscuring their face. On her back was a quiver full of arrows, and a bow was slung across her chest. The man on the pad took a shocked breath.

"Shado?" he whispered. The figure shook her head.

"No, but she is one of those I honor by wearing this hood." She replied. Her voice was modulated, making it deeper and more masculine.

_A handy trick_, Malcolm thought. _In a dark alley, or from a distance, one might mistake her for a man._

"My apologies for bringing you all here the way I did," she started. "Unfortunately I knew of no way to warn you beforehand. Without you thinking I was a crazy person, of course."

"What do you want with us?" Malcolm demanded. He could barely see a smile from on her lips under the hood.

"First, introductions are in order, as not everybody knows everybody here." She pointed to Diggle. "This is John Diggle. Former Army Special Forces, served three tours in Afghanistan, now works as a private security consultant." She pointed to Felicity, "Felicity Smoake, MIT class of 1999, well on her way to becoming head of the IT department at Queen Consolidated, and pretty much the smartest person in this room. Malcolm Merlyn," her finger moved over to the Merlyn men, "Head of Merlyn Global and wealthy philanthropist, among other things. Tommy Merlyn- Slut."

"Hey!" Tommy said in protest, even as Thea and Laurel laughed.

"Moira Queen, former wife of Robert Queen, former head of Queen Consolidated, current wife of Walter Steele, same job. She pretty much runs the Queen family on the social circuit." The woman continued. "Thea Queen, her daughter." The figure paused for a moment, seemingly lost in her thoughts. With a shake of her head, she continued. "Detective Quentin Lance, SCPD, and his daughter Laurel Lance, attorney for CNRI. And finally," her finger swung towards Slade, though this felt more like an accusing finger than simply pointing him out. "Slade Wilson. Former Australian Secret Intelligence Service, former survivor of Lian Yu, current business man and paid mercenary." Everyone turned to look at Slade, who himself looked surprised that someone knew what his night job was. "As to why you are here," the woman started, drawing their attention back to her, "You all represent key players in events that will soon be unfolding in your time- events I hope to change, for the better."

The group shared bewildered looks between them for a few moments before Laurel spoke. "What gives you the right to do this? What gives you the right to essentially play god?" she asked incredulously.

"And not to piss you off, "Thea added, "but why in the hell should we trust some whack-job in a green hood?"

The woman snorted in amusement. "Dinah Laurel Lance, you've never changed." She stated. "I've learned, over the years, that there are two kinds of people in this world- those who choose to act, and those choose not to. What give me the right is that I am choosing to act. I am choosing to believe that, by you all working together, you can craft a future for yourselves that is far better than the one you have now. And I choose to believe that, working together, we can save hundreds of lives that will be lost- many of you amongst them." She let that fact sink in, and then subtly turned towards Thea. "As to why you should trust a 'nutjob in a green hood', well," hesitantly she reached up to her chest and tapped, turning off the voice modulator. Then she reached up and drew down the mask that covered her eyes so that it hung around her neck. Finally, after another pause, she put the hood down and turned fully to face the group, many who gasped in shock.

"If you can't trust yourself," Thea Dearden Queen said with a wry grin, "who can you trust?"

**FLASHBACK**

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><p><em>"What gives you the right to do this? What gives you the right to essentially play god?" Dinah Laurel Lance practically snarled from her seat around the table. To her left sat the new Batman, Superman, and same old Martian Manhunter. To her right sat Wonder Woman, the Green Lantern Kyle Rayner, and Wally West, also known as The Flash they made up the core members of the latest incarnation of the Justice League, to which Thea herself was a member. But while she was merely a worker, they made up the executive council, which means she had to sell her plan to them before she could even begin.<em>

_"Uh, technically we would." Wally said flippantly, earning a scowl. "Sorry."_

_"No you're not." Batman said with some amusement. Dick Grayson was as different from Bruce Wayne as night was from day, and that bled into his Batman personae at times. Still, he was deadly serious when he addressed her. "You do realize how risky messing with time travel is, don't you? You could make things worse."_

_Thea gave a snort of disgust. "How much worse could things get?"_

_"You want to save The Glades from your daddy's little plan." Dinah said acidly. Thea worked very hard to keep her emotions in check. These days, the only thing Laurel did was get under her skin. "That's very noble of you. But what's to say one of those people you save in the Glades won't be the next Adolph Hitler?"_

_"What's to say one of those people won't be the next Martin Luther King Jr.?" Thea countered in a reasonable tone. "I won't even draw comparisons to Einstein, because if this works, Felicity would be saved as well. Look, this isn't just about giving me a happy ending here," Thea continued, looking at each member individually. "Lord knows that everyone here would love to go back in time and change that one thing- but ultimately, that one thing is what made you who you are. I could be asking to go back and stop Ollie and Robert from getting on the Gambit. Or going back further and saving Rebecca's' life. But I'm not asking for that. I'm asking to bring certain people here and share certain pieces of knowledge that will let them make informed decisions, and in the process save countless innocent civilian lives that were needlessly lost-"_

_"Let's cut the bullshit, shall we?" Laurel snarled as she got up from her seat and stalked over to Thea. She stopped inches from the younger girl, and it took all of Thea's willpower not to attack the girl out of instinct. "If you want me to approve this idiotic idea, than I want you to admit to me, right now, that this is less about the hundreds of innocent people that could be saved, and more about the fact that you killed your brother."_

**END FLASHBACK**

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><p>The group stood in stunned amazement, staring at the older Thea before them. Her hair was cut short in a pixie cut, and there were more than a few lines in her face, but she was clearly recognizable. More shocked than Moira or even Thea was Malcolm. The businessman had spent a lot of time with Moira over the past several years, but had spent very little time with her youngest child. The times he did see her he could clearly see Moira in her, but looking at Thea all grown up, staring back at him-<p>

_With his eyes._

Thea smirked as she saw Malcolm put the pieces together. The smirk softened into a smile as she looked at her mother's face for the first time in nearly twenty five years. "Hi, mom." She said, barely keeping her emotions in check.

"Thea, my g…" Moira started.

"Bullshit."

The elder Thea chuckled at her younger self's exclamation. "What's bullshit?"

"This. All of this," Thea started. "We've been drugged, and kidnapped, and this is part of some nutjobs grand plan, or something."

The elder Thea shook her head. "Nope. This is as real as it gets."

"Prove it." Her younger self demanded. "Tell me something only I would know."

"You sure you want me to do that?"

"Yes!"

"Okay," the elder Thea said with a sly smile that put her younger counterpart on edge. "Let's see, if my calculations were correct, and they were…" she snapped her fingers suddenly "A couple of days ago, from your perspective at least, you and Margo had a grand old time tripping off ecstasy at her house when her parent weren't there…"

"THEA DEARDEN QUEEN!" Moira exclaimed.

"Oh, shit…" Thea grumbled, shooting a glare at her older self, who just shrugged her shoulders_. You asked. _The look she gave her said.

"Geez, Speedy. You don't need to live up to your nickname, you know."

Thea spun and glared at the older boy. "Oh, this is rich. Please tell me that Tommy Merlyn, party boy extraordinaire isn't going to lecture me on what I do with my friends, considering all the things you used to do with Ollie."

"Hey, me and Ollie drank- A LOT." He emphasized. "And we occasionally smoked weed. But we never popped pills, or did any hard drugs. That kind of stuff can seriously mess you up, and if the cops catch you with it, money or not you'll spend some time in jail."

"When we get home young lady, you and I are going to have a long conversation." Moira said crossly, glaring at her daughter. Thea in turn glared at her older self.

"Narc."

"Nope, I'm just very particular what I put into my body these days. Speaking of which- Shane? Not worth your time." The younger girl sputtered indignantly as Moira looked horrified. The older girl turned around and started walking out of the room. "If you all would follow me, please. It's time to get started.

"Where exactly are we?" Felicity asked as they walked down the corridor.

"This is the Watchtower," Thea began. "It's in a geosynchronous orbit approximately 22,300 miles above Earth. It's the headquarters of the Justice League."

"What's that?" Tommy asked.

"This is going to be weird to hear, but right now, you all are living in the dawn of the age of the superheroes." She said as they walked. "Within the next five years, you are going to start hearing about both beings with tremendous powers, and ordinary people doing extraordinary things. I'm talking Amazons, aliens, Meta-humans… and ordinary people like me who put on a costume and a mask and try to protect people. For years we were just urban legends or myths. Occasionally we were hunted by the police. But fifteen years ago from this time, a massive alien invasion threatened earth. And the worlds individual heroes banded together to drive them back and save the planet."

"And there came a day," Felicity started, "a day unlike any other, when Earth's mightiest heroes and heroines found themselves united against a common threat. And on that day…"

"The Justice League was born." Thea finished with a smile. "Close enough, I suppose." She stopped at a door. "Here we go." She tapped the control panel and the door opened to reveal a comfortable sitting room. She led the group in and gestured towards the couches. "Make yourselves comfortable, and I'll explain what's going to happen."

As Tommy walked past the elder Thea, he stopped and turned to her. "So, Thea-" he started, and the younger girl looked over to him. He chuckled. "Okay, we need to call you something else, otherwise this is going to get real confusing, real fast."

"It's not confusing already?" Thea joked. "Well, I suppose you could call me Malika Sihème." She said,

"What kind of name is that?"

"It's the name I took after I completed my training." She smirked at Malcolm, whose head had whipped around to stare at her. "It means Queen Arrow."

"O-kay, that's weird." Tommy said. Thea laughed.

"I missed you Tommy," she said, placing a hand on his arm. "But call me Mia. Mia Dearden was a cover identity I created about ten years ago. That should work."

"Okay, Mia it is." Tommy said, his eyes twinkling. "So, what did you and Margo get up to…"

Mia's smile turned into a smirk. "Tommy, in about five minutes, you are going to realize how horribly inappropriate that question was." She pointed towards the seats. "Sit."

Everyone sat down, with the Queens, Lances and Merlyns taking a couch each, Leaving Dig and Felicity to share a couch. Slade opted to sit in one of the chairs off to the side, so he could observe everybody in the room. After they settled down, Mia started speaking.

"I told you I brought you here to change the future. Now I will tell you how. After the League was formed, Superman had an idea. Well, Batman had an idea that he managed to pass off through Superman. The thought was that, sometime in the future, historians would look back and wonder how the Justice League came about. What made these people into superheroes? How did they become more than just a man, or woman?

"Using Kryptonian technology, a device was constructed that allowed each member to record their memories in a visual medium. These memories, enhanced with eye witness reports, written articles and diary entries in some cases, give a fully comprehensive look into the hero's journey. The end result is a fully visualized record that a historian could watch, like a movie or a TV show. This is what you'll be watching."

"What, we'll be seeing you become a hero?" Thea asked. Mia shook her head.

"No, you'll be watching Ollie becoming a hero."

There was a stunned silence as they all stared at her. "Oliver?" Moira whispered. Mia smiled.

"Yes, mom, Oliver is alive. He'll be found about six months from when I took you from. When he returns to Starling City, he'll pick up the bow and the hood and begin to do what Dad asked him to do- right the wrongs our families have perpetrated on the city."

Moira shot to her feet. "Robert…" she asked hopefully, but her face fell as Mia shook her head sadly.

"He didn't survive. But Oliver did." Mia walked up to the screen in the wall, staring into the dark glass. She took a breath, steeling herself for what she was about to do. "Secrets and lies. They are the stock and trade for the Queen family." She scoffed slightly to herself. "The Merlyn family, too for that matter. Secrets and lies destroyed us all- destroyed me." She turned around to face them all. "That ends today. So much pain and suffering could have been prevented if we all just told each other the truth. But all of us were so used to lying that we never did. Well, no more." She said harshly. "You all will see the first two years of Oliver's' journey to becoming a hero. You'll see his triumphs, and his tragedies." Her gaze lingered on Tommy a moment before she continued. "You will see all the choices he had to make, and all the enemies he had to fight." This time she looked first at Slade, then at Malcolm. Then she looked at her mother. She marveled for a moment at the fact that she was near the same age as her right now, but then her gaze hardened. "All your secrets will be laid bare. All the secrets and lies exposed. So when I send you back, you all can make an informed decision- whether all your plans, and all your plots, actually made things better- or worse. And maybe, just maybe, you can learn from your mistakes here, and make things better when you go home."

"What gives you the right to air our secrets in the open like this?" Moira snarled, both in anger and in fear. "Some things need to stay hidden to protect people!"

Mia stalked up to her mother, who to her credit didn't back down. "Do I look like a well-adjusted woman to you, Mom?" she snarled in return. "Within ten years I lose EVERYTHING! All of my family, DEAD! And it started here, with Oliver's return! Do you understand that, mother? I lost you, I lost my brothers, and I lost my fathers." She emphasized, and Moira's eyes widened. Silently she pleaded with the woman not to reveal her biggest secret, but Mia shook her head. "She's going to find out. HE'S going to find out, as will everyone else who hasn't realized it yet."

"Realized what?" Laurel asked in confusion.

"That Mr. Merlyn there is Thea's daddy." Slade said, leaning back and enjoying the show. When he promised to take everything Oliver loved away from him, he had no idea that those things would do it to themselves.

"What?" Thea whispered.

Tommy looked at Thea, then Mia, then his dad. He looked back and forth between the two for a moment before the resemblance finally hit home. "Dad?"

"Is there something you forgot to tell me, Moira?" Malcolm asked with an edge to his voice. Moira sighed, and then looked to her younger daughter.

"Robert was a good man, Thea. He just wasn't always a good husband." She started, sitting down and taking Thea's hand in hers. Thea didn't resist, still stunned. "He liked younger women, and occasionally he'd strike up a romance with them. I tolerated it for years, but one time, it became too much for me to bear. I was lonely, and I was angry, and I was hurt. Malcolm had just lost his wife, Rebecca. He came over one day to see Robert, who was off with his latest conquest, and one thing led to another…"

"Oh, god." Thea moaned, putting her head down.

"It was one time, Thea. After that, Malcolm left for two years, and your father and I reconciled. And make no mistake, Robert was your father."

"Yeah, because he didn't know I wasn't his!" Thea said hotly.

"Yes he did." Mia had spoken quietly, but she gained everyone's attention. "Dad knew. Kind of hard not to when you have dark hair and everyone else in the family is blonde, I suppose. But he knew; he just didn't care. To him, you were his daughter and he loved you- loved us. If you doubt anything else you see here, NEVER doubt that." She turned then to Malcolm. "As for why Mom never told you, you know damn well why. And by the end of this, so will everyone else. So give her a break, give Mini-Me some space, and pray everything works out for the best." She sighed. "Now, I'll be in a control room down the hall. I'll load each memory sequence, and then you will control it." She picked up a familiar looking remote control that was sitting on a small table in front of the couches. "This is like your standard Blu-ray player remote. "Play to play, pause to pause, stop to stop. If you need anything, or if you want to call it a night, press the call button on the table and someone- usually me- will come in. I have rooms set aside for everyone to bed down."

"How long are we looking to stay here?" Diggle asked.

"Yeah, some people here have jobs," Tommy started. Still stunned by the revelation he had a sister. At the incredulous looks he received, he hastily added "Not me, but Laurel, and Detective Lance, and-"

"Everyone else in the room." Mia finished dryly. "This will take several days. But remember- this is time travel. I can send you back five minutes from when I picked you up." She looked at Felicity and Diggle, who still looked confused as to why they were there. "I know the two of you are even more confused than everyone else here, but trust me. You two are very important." She paused, and then turned back to Tommy. "Blonde or Brunette?" she asked wryly.

"Redhead." Tommy said with a smirk. "Twins."

"Oh, for god's sake Tommy!" Thea and Laurel exclaimed almost at the same time. Tommy gave them both a smile, which quickly turned to a look of distress as he looked at Thea- his sister. Mia noticed and laughed out loud.

"Told you so." She smirked. She turned to leave, then stopped and turned back. "One last thing, Malcolm, Mr. Wilson. We have a very strict 'No Violence' policy on this station. Now, we'll be monitoring the room in case you need anything, but if we see any type of fight start, we will shut it down. Now, Slade," she turned to look at Slade directly. "My brother always believed that you could be saved. He always thought that, deep down inside of you, was the good man who helped save his life. Me?" she waggled her hand from side to side. "I give you about a fifty/fifty chance." She bent down so that they were face to face. "Make no mistake, the only reason you are here is because I thought my brother would want it this way. He would want to give you a chance. But if you, in any way, decide to carry out your vendetta here; if you make even the slightest move to hurt anybody in this room, or on this station, then I will CUT OFF YOUR FUCKING HEAD. _**AGAIN**_."

The room was dead silent at Mia's announcement. Thea looked shocked and sick, as did Moira. Malcolm, on the other hand, looked on proudly. Slade smirked.

"I'll give you no trouble, kid." He said after a minute. Mia smirked, then rose and turned to walk out. "You'd do it, too. Wouldn't you?" he asked.

She stopped and looked back at him, then at Malcolm. "What can I say? I guess I got a bit of my father in me." With that, she walked out, the door closing behind her.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong>

Well, hello there! Guess who's' back? Now I know that many of you were hoping to get an update on Finding Avalon, and maybe one or two were looking for the final chapter of New Jedi Order. Well, I'm sorry to say that those stories are on hold for the immediate future. The reason? In part, this story.

(Revised note: Oops. Well, you got a chapter of Finding Avalon, at least!)

A little behind the scenes for you all. When I get involved in a fandom, be it Stargate, BSG, or Star Wars, I go all in. I immerse myself in the show, in the books, in the comics. And when I get a story idea, I will weave all of the knowledge I have accumulated into that story. But after a while, I just get burned out. I haven't finished NJO because I got burned out on Star Wars (but, with a new movie coming, that may change in the near future). With Startgate and BSG, the shows ended, and I wasn't as invested in it anymore. Add to that work, and debt, and all of those fun adult things that we all love- well, writing just wasn't fun anymore. And I just wasn't motivated to write.

But then Arrow started. And it took me to the middle of the second season, but I really got into it. I loved the characters, I loved the stories, and I loved the world it created. And I started reading the fan fiction inspired by it, and I in turn was inspired. Specifically by a story by Revenant-Commander called 'A Selective Gathering'. I hadn't read a 'characters watch the series' or 'character read the books they are in' story in a few years, and I gave it a shot. And even with only two chapters, I loved it. And then I started thinking about my own 'characters watch the show' story.

And so we have this story. I owe Revenant-Commander a debt of thanks for re-igniting my love of writing.

I'm going to try to keep updates regular at one chapter a week. I plan to have most of the first season in the can before I begin posting. This story will cover the first two seasons of Arrow, and then I have a sequel planned to follow the events of this story. Just a note, there will be one event at the very end that will differ from what aired. And after these two, I've had an idea for a Buffy/DC crossover that I might try to finally get out.

Finally, I'd like to say that, for the episodes themselves, I may end up leaving out some scenes here or there. The reason for that is that I want there always to be a, for lack of a better term, plausible reason for every piece of 'footage' to exist. If there is a meeting between two bad guys, if I could reason that somewhere was a camera recording the event that was recovered later, than I will use it. If not, the events in the scenes will be inferred latter.

The hardest part of writing this story, I've found, is actually transcribing the episodes themselves. I have pulled transcripts of the dialogue off of this site: springfieldspringfield **DOT **co **DOT **uk **SLAHS **episode_ ?tv-show=arrow

Those transcripts seem to be the Closed Captioning from the shows.


	2. Chapter 1: Pilot

**Disclaimer: **Arrow is owned by The CW, Berlanti Productions, and Warner Bros. Television. The character of the Green Arrow and the Justice League is owned by DC Comics. I own nothing; I'm just playing in their universe.

**Chapter 1: Pilot**

* * *

><p><strong>The Watchtower, 2039<strong>

Wearily, Mia made her way into the observation room down the hall. She entered and dropped into her chair in front of the monitors, then looked next to her at Roy, who was staring back in sympathy.

"Long day?" he asked.

_Great! I grow up into a psychotic bitch!_

Mia winced as the voice of her younger self came through the speakers. Roy smiled wanly. "You did just scare the shit out of them. 'I'll cut off your fucking head again'? Really?"

"The point had to be made."

"So send in Rose! Everyone expects her to be a psychotic bitch!" That earned Roy a light slap in the head from the third person in the room, Rose Wilson- also known in the League as Ravager.

"I wouldn't have warned him. I would have just cut off his fucking head." She said with a smirk, her one eye gleaming in amusement.

"And that's why Rose didn't go in the room." Mia said. She watched the screen for a moment, then smiled to herself. She clicked on her communicator. "Wally? Can I ask a favor of you?"

**Sitting Room**

* * *

><p>There was silence for nearly a full minute after Mia had left, with everyone casting furtive glances at one another, and everybody staring at Slade. Finally, Thea broke the silence.<p>

"Great! I grow up into a psychotic bitch!" she exclaimed.

"Well, at least," Tommy started, then cringed. "Man, I can't even use my cheesy lines on you to break the tension, because you're my sister!"

"At least you recognize the lines are cheesy." Laurel pointed out. "That's a start." There were a few laughs at that, though Thea still looked sickened and depressed. Making a decision, Tommy got up and moved next to Thea, taking her hand as he sat down.

"Look," he started, "Mia said she wants to change the future, which is her past. Don't you think that means she wants to change thing so that you don't become a psychotic bitch?"

"He's right, you know." Felicity said. When Thea looked up at her, she continued. "I mean, where we are right now is just one possible future. What we see are the outcomes of decisions made in the past. By being here, and seeing what we have seen already, we've ensured that when we go back, this future will probably cease to exist since we'll be making all new decisions based on what we have seen."

"And isn't that the point of this whole thing?" Dig added, and Felicity nodded.

"Exactly!"

"How can you be so sure?" Thea asked.

"Because I've watched a lot of Doctor Who." The tech genius replied, causing more laughter. "Now, why don't we get started? Though this would be a lot better if we all had some pop-" suddenly a red blur shot through the room, depositing several bowls of popcorn in its wake. "-corn. Huh." She looked at the bowl for a moment. "This would be a lot better if I had a million dollars." She asked hopefully, looking around, before her shoulders slumped in defeat.

"Worth a shot." Dig consoled her, grabbing a handful of popcorn in the process. Even Slade snorted in amusement.

"Well, like the lady said," Malcolm said, picking up the remote, "Let's get started."

He pressed play.

_A figure runs through a dense forest, swinging from tree branches over fallen trees, jumping over other obstacles. As the forest thins out, the figure can clearly be made out as a man, wearing a familiar green hood. He scrambles up a sheer rock cliff face and, as he comes to the top, the face finally comes into view._

"Oliver…" Moira whispered. Thea leaned forward, staring intently at the screen. He's older, with long stringy hair and a scraggly beard, but he is clearly recognizable as her brother.

_Oliver peers over the top of the cliff to the bay, and spots a small fishing vessel . Moving quickly, he runs across the top of the cliff and back slightly into the woods, where a small bundle of supplies lay wrapped in a cloth Rapidly he withdraws his bow, and an arrow whose tip was covered in tar. Using a flint, he lights the arrow head on fire. He nocked the arrow, drew back on the string and took a moment to aim. Then he let the arrow fly-_

_Into a pre-made signal on the beach, which explodes into a ball of fire._

"Nice form." Malcolm remarked.

_On the fishing boat, the two man crew notice the fireball and head towards shore to investigate. As they come onto the shore, they walk past a ragged looking mask on a post. It was half blue and half gold, and an arrow was stuck through the right eye hole._

Slade snorted in amusement. "Very nice, kid." He said quietly, though more than a few people in the room looked at him curiously.

"_The name of the island they found me on is Lian Yu. __It's mandarin for purgatory. __I've been stranded here for I've dreamt of my rescue every cold black night since then. __For five years, I have had only one thought, one goal survive. Survive and one day return home."_

_Oliver fell to his knees in front of the two fisherman and slowly let down his hood. His face was filthy, his hair and beard matted with dirt and grime._

"Oh, my poor boy…" Moira said, tears in her eyes. Thea put an arm around her mother, even as she cried. Tommy held on to his sisters' hand trying to convey some comfort, even as he tried to process his friend being alive.

_Now on the boat, Oliver was bundled in a blanket, and one of the fisherman brought him some hot tea to warm him up._

"_The island held many dangers. __To live, I had to make myself more than what I was, to forge myself into a weapon. __I am returning not the boy who was shipwrecked but the man who will bring justice to those who have poisoned my city. __My name is Oliver Queen."_

"Jesus Ollie," Laurel said softly.

_The footage shifted to a news report. _

"_Oliver Queen is alive." Marrett Green announced into the camera. "The Starling City resident was found by fishermen in the North China sea five days ago, five years after he was missing and was presumed dead following the accident at sea which claimed 'The Queen's Gambit.'" The screen changed from a picture of the yacht to file footage of Oliver staggering around drunkenly. "Queen was a regular tabloid presence and a fixture at the Starling City club scene. Shortly before his disappearance, he was acquitted of assault charges stemming from a highly publicized drunken altercation with paparazzi."_

"Rightly acquitted, because that Paps was a douche." Tommy threw in. Thea elbowed him.

"Quiet!" she hissed.

"_Queen is the son of Starling City billionaire Robert Queen, who was also on board but now officially confirmed as deceased."_

Moira let out a sob, and Malcolm paused the video to give her a moment to grieve. Thea threw her arms around her mother and gave her a tight hug, crying with the woman. They had grieved once before, but to hear the finality of the announcement, that her dad was actually dead…

Malcolm may be her biological father, but Robert was always her dad. And she didn't doubt that he loved her. And it pained her that she would never again be able to tell him how much she meant to her.

The others in the room kept a respectful silence; even Slade was quiet. Two couches down, Laurel and Quentin were consoling each other; with no mention of Sara, they could only conclude that she was, in fact dead.

After a few minutes, the women calmed down and Moira motioned for him to continue, which he did. They found themselves watching Dr. Lamb giving Moira his assessment of Oliver at Starling General Hospital.

"_20 percent of his body is covered in scar tissue. Second-degree burns on his back and arms. X-rays show at least 12 fractures that never properly healed." Dr. Lamb was saying._

"_Has he said anything about what happened? " Moira asked, looking into Oliver's room and watching him as he looked out at the city. Oliver looked better now that he had had a shower and a shave, his hair was also neatly trimmed. _

"_No. He's barely said anything." Dr. Lamb Replied. "Moira, I'd like you to prepare yourself. The Oliver you lost might not be the one they found." _

_Moira didn't respond. Instead, she entered the room, letting the door close behind her. "Oliver." She said quietly. Oliver turned around, a myriad of emotions playing across his face._

"_Mom." He finally said after a moment. Moira slowly walked towards him, and Oliver met her half way._

"_Oh My beautiful boy." She said tearfully as they hugged._

The mood was lightened slightly when Felicity gave out a loud sniffled, prompting Dig to hand him his handkerchief. "Sorry," she said, blowing her nose, "reunions like this always make me a bit weepy."

Tommy looked like he was about to move over towards the tech genius, prompting Quentin to say, "Don't even think about it, Merlyn."

Tommy looked affronted. "What?" he asked innocently, "I was just going to comfort her!"

"Don't you have a pair of redheads to _comfort_ when we get back?" the cop asked snidely.

Moira suddenly looked over at the Lances. "Oh my god, Quentin… "

Quentin held up a hand, knowing what she was thinking. "It's alright, Moira." He said, his tone softening. "I'm just happy that you got your child back, at least." He scoffed sadly. "I guess it was too much to ask for another miracle."

_Back on the screen, the Queen's Bentley pulled up to the front of the stately old Queen mansion. The trunk opened to reveal a long wooden crate with Chinese writings and a padlock. As the driver reached for it, Oliver cut him off._

"_I've got it." He said, grasping the case instead._

_Moira opened the front doors and led her son inside. "Your room is exactly as you left it." She said, leading him into the house. "I never had the heart to change a thing."_

"_Oliver." A refined British voice called out._

"Uh-oh." Tommy said suddenly. Thea looked at him questioningly.

"_It's damn good to see you." A tall black man came into view. Oliver looked at him in confusion. "It's Walter," the man said, "Walter Steele."_

"Oh, mother!" Thea said in exasperation.

"What?" Moira asked in confusion.

"I think you may have forgot to mention to Oliver at the hospital that you remarried." Quentin remarked, a bit of amusement in his voice. Laurel slapped him lightly on the arm, her disapproval of his amusement evident.

_On the screen, Moira tried to clarify. "You remember Walter, your father's friend from the company." She said, as if that would explain why he was at their house. Another figure entered the foyer, and Oliver walked past Walter, ignoring him completely._

"Ouch." Felicity mumbled quietly to herself. She had met Mr. Steele a couple of times; he was always very nice to her.

_Oliver walked up to the older woman in the maid's outfit and took her hands in his. "It's good to see you, Raisa." He said warmly._

"_Welcome home, Mr. Oliver." She replied in equal warmth. She looked over to Moira. "Mr. Merlyn phoned." She said. "He wants to join you for dinner."_

"_Wonderful." Moira said, even as Oliver was distracted by the sound of a door slamming. He looked up towards the top of the stairs as his mother continued. "Oliver? Did you hear that?" he ignored her as he walked around the pillar to the bottom of the stairs._

"_Hey, sis." Oliver said as Thea stood at the top of the stairs._

"Okay, this is weird." Tommy said.

"What about this isn't weird?" Diggle asked rhetorically. Malcolm paused the recording again.

"No, follow me on this." Tommy continued. "We were brought her by a much older Thea, so that a younger Thea could watch a slightly older Thea interact with her brother."

Thea snorted, then let out a long laugh as the absurdity of the situation was finally laid clear in one absurd statement. Both Moira and Malcolm looked at Tommy with silent gratitude in their eyes.

"_I knew it." Thea was saying as she ran down the stairs, jumping into her brother's arms. "I knew you were alive! I missed you so much." She said, hugging him._

"_You were with me the whole time." He replied, a genuine smile on his face._

In the monitoring room, Mia suddenly jumped to her feet and ran out the door. Roy stood to follow, but Rose held him back.

"Give her a few minutes, Roy." She said. Reluctantly, Roy sat back down.

_Back on the screen, we are taken over the Glades into CNRI as Joanna was arguing with Laurel._

"_Come on, Laurel," she was saying, "We're lawyers, not miracle workers. We can't win this."_

"_If we can't win a class-action suit against a man who swindled hundreds of people out of their homes and life savings," Laurel replied, "then we're not fit to call ourselves a legal aid office."_

"_And if we go bankrupt in the process, we won't be a legal aid office." Joanna shot back. "Hunt has an army of lawyers, and they're ready to bury us."_

"Adam Hunt?" Malcolm questioned, looking over at Laurel. "That's ambitious."

"He's a scumbag." Laurel replied evenly. "It's good to know I start working on that case; I've just been doing some preliminary work recently."

"I wish you the best of luck." Malcolm replied honestly. Adam Hunt was a scumbag alright; he was on Malcolm's list. And while his connections were good for some of his plans, he wasn't necessary to the Undertaking. He made a split decision. "If you need any help with him, let me know. I'd happily give a sizeable donation to CNRI to see Adam Hunt rot behind bars."

Laurel smiled brightly. "Thank you, Mr. Merlyn. I might take you up on that.

"_You and I against an army." Laurel said on screen. "I love those odds."_

"_Why do you hate me?" Joanna groused as Laurel sat down at her desk. She stared up at her board that laid out Adam Hunt and his 'alleged' criminal activities, searching for something concrete that she could sink her teeth into. As she was looking, a news report on one of the office TV's caught her attention._

"_And in other news, details as to the castaway story you've all heard about the son of a very wealthy billionaire will soon become a legendary story. Jessica now has more details and the complete castaway story. Jessica?" Laurel got up and walked over to the TV that her colleagues were all gathered around._

"'_The Queen's Gambit' was last heard from more than five years ago. Mr. Queen has reportedly confirmed he was the only survivor of the accident that took the lives of seven people, including local resident Sarah Lance. Survived by her sister, Laurel-" _

_Laurel shut the TV off, not wanting to hear anymore._

_The scene shifted back to the Queen mansion. It was night, and Oliver emerged from his bathroom in only a towel._

"Oh, my…" Felicity said quietly, but loud enough that both Thea and Laurel heard it. Laurel rolled her eyes while Thea let out a snort of amusement. Quentin, though, squinted and leaned forward. "Merlyn, could you pause it?"

Malcolm raised an eyebrow but did so. Quentin got up and moved closer to the screen, scrutinizing the figure before him. "Why does that look familiar?" he mumbled to himself, staring at the tattoo on Oliver's chest.

"Something you want to tell us, Detective?" Tommy asked sarcastically, ignoring the look Laurel shot his way.

A look of dawning realization came over the Detective's face. "Oh, my god. Oh you son of a bitch!" he exclaimed.

"Excuse me?" Moira replied acidly. Quentin pointed to the tattoo on Oliver's chest.

"That right there? That's a Bratva tattoo!"

Malcolm's eyebrows shot up at that, and Diggle gasped lightly in surprise even as everyone else looked confused.

"What's the Bratva?" Thea asked.

"The Russian Mob."

Moira scoffed. "That's preposterous." She exclaimed. "He's been stranded on an island for five years! When would he have joined the Russian Mob?"

Quentin jabbed a finger at the screen. "That is a Bratva tattoo. The more intricate the tattoo, the higher the rank in the mob. From the looks of this one, I'd say he's a Captain! I knew that boy was no good…"

"Dad," Laurel started, but was cut off by Moira.

"You never liked my son, Quentin…"

"Gee, I wonder why?" he roared back.

"Let's address the elephant in the room, shall we?" Moira snarled. "Sara was a grown woman, and she chose to go with Oliver on the Gambit. No one forced her to go! And you blaming my son for her decision won't bring her back!"

There was dead silence in the room; Quentin was trembling with rage. Dig got up and put a hand on the cop's shoulder.

"Come on, Detective. Let's all just settle down, okay?" Quentin looked at the man, then back at Moira.

"Fine," he said finally, then jabbed his finger back at the screen, pointing once more to the tattoo. "But you don't get to be a Captain in the Bratva by buying everyone drinks or giving charming smiles. He's killed someone for them; probably more than one some ones. So you can tell me all you want that your son didn't murder my baby girl, but he's still a murderer." With that, he sat down.

"Yes, well…" Malcolm said after a moment, "Let's continue, shall we?"

' _After five years, everything that was once familiar is now unrecognizable.' Oliver was saying, narrating his own story. On the screen, Oliver was looking himself over, cataloging his various scars. 'The face I see in the mirror is a stranger.' For a moment looking in the mirror, he saw himself in his familiar green hood. But as he turned away, his find flew back to where it all began._

_**Flashback**_

_The Queen's Gambit made its way through stormy seas. Inside the boat, Robert Queen was looking at a weather map on the wall as one of the crewmen came in from the storm._

"Dad…" Thea said, leaning forward. Biological or not, this was the man that raised her.

"_The storm's a category 2." The crewman said. "The captain's recommending we head back."_

_Robert sighed. "All right. Inform the crew. He said as a younger looking Oliver ducked out of a stateroom._

"_Are we in trouble?" he asked._

"_One of us is." Robert replied with a small smile. Oliver let out a small laugh, but before he could say anymore a blonde-haired girl came out of the room in nothing more than her lingerie an a short silk robe._

Laurel put a hand to her mouth, staring sadly at her younger sister. 'Oh, Sara,' she thought. 'Why….'

"_Ollie?" she started, then noticed Robert. Grinning, she wrapped the robe around herself. "Where do you keep the bottle opener on this thing?"_

"_I'll be there in a minute, Sarah." Oliver said with a grin. Sara grinned and went back into the room, her hair swaying behind her._

_Robert came up to his son and put a hand on his shoulder. "You know, son, that is not going to finish well for either of them or for you."_

"Well, he was right about that…." Quentin muttered.

_The flashback ended and Oliver was again standing in the foyer of the mansion, looking at a picture of his younger self and his dad. He was staring at it pensively, and then he heard the front door open. He put the picture down as a grin came to his face._

"_What did I tell you? Yachts suck."_

"_Tommy Merlyn." Oliver replied hugging his best friend. Tommy hugged him back strongly, happy to have his brother back._

"Finally, things can lighten up." Tommy joked, trying to ease the tension.

"Yeah, the Wonder Twins are back together." Thea added, causing Laurel to snort with laughter. "Oh, my god, did you seriously just snort?"

"Shut up, Speedy." Laurel said with a sad smile. She looked to Tommy. "You're already a bad influence on her." she said. He winked at her in reply.

"_I missed you, buddy." Tommy said._

_The scene shifted, and the whole family (plus Tommy) was seated around the dining room table. Oliver sat at one end, with Thea and Tommy to his left and right respectively; Moira sat at the other end with Walter to her left._

"_Ok." Tommy started. "What else did you miss? Super bowl winners Giants, Steelers, Saints, Packers, Giants again. A black president, that's new. Oh, and 'Lost,' they were all dead I think." He finished with some confusion. Honestly, no one really knew how Lost ended._

"Is that what happened?" Diggle asked, wondering aloud.

"Yeah." Felicity sighed. "It was about as unsatisfying as the end of The Sopranos." She took in everyone's stares. "What? Just because I work with computers and like Sci-Fi, I can't like a good Mob drama?"

"_What was it like there?" Thea asked suddenly. There was silence as everyone turned to look at Oliver. He plastered a fake smile on his face. "Cold." He said after a moment, an air of finality in that one word._

"_Tomorrow, you and me, we're doing the city." Tommy suddenly announced, sensing that it was time to move on. "You've got a lot to catch up on."_

"_That sounds like a great idea." Moira said._

"_Good." Oliver replied. "Then I was hoping to swing by the office."_

_Walter and Moira exchanged glances. "Well, there's plenty of time for all that." Walter responded. "Queen Consolidated isn't going anywhere."_

_At that moment, Raisa came back into the room with a bowl of pears. She tripped on the rug and stumbled into Oliver, who deftly caught her and the bowl "Oh, I am so sorry, Mr. Oliver." She said. Oliver smiled at the older Russian._

"_Ni dlya kogo ne volnuites." He replied. There was a beat in the room as everyone processed that._

"_Dude, you speak Russian?" Tommy finally exclaimed._

"He speaks Russian…." Quentin said to Moira accusingly. She glared in return. "And a sudden interest in the family business? Maybe he's looking for ways for his Russian friends to make some 'legitimate' money."

"That is absurd." Moira said.

"Dad," Laurel started, placing a hand on his knee, "We apparently have a lot of these memories to watch, so why don't you tone it down a bit. Okay?" Quentin held up his hands in surrender.

"_I didn't realize you took Russian at college, Oliver." Walter said, slightly confused._

"_I didn't realize you wanted to sleep with my mother, Walter." Oliver replied bluntly._

"Ouch." Thea grimaced. "Definitely should have told him at the hospital, Mom."

"I obviously didn't want to upset him." Moira said, defending her decision. Thea shot her a look.

"Yeah. That's working out real well."

_Conversation again died, and Walter and Moira glanced at each other. Moira looked back to her son, whose face showed only polite interest, no anger or disappointment. Moira looked over to Thea._

"_I didn't say anything." She said._

"_She didn't have to." Oliver added._

_Moira's eyes narrowed slightly, then she nodded to herself, seemingly coming to a decision. "Oliver," she started, taking Walter's hand in her own, "Walter and I are married. And I don't want you to think that either one of us did anything to disrespect your father."_

"_We both believed that Robert, like you, was, uh, well, gone." Walter added._

"_It's fine." Oliver said. He stared at his mother for a few moments, before he rose. "May I be excused?" he asked, rising from his chair. Moira nodded, and Oliver turned to leave._

"_Hey, don't forget about tomorrow, buddy." Tommy called out as Oliver left, casting one last look at Thea. Round the table,, looks of sadness passed over Moira and Thea's face, as they began to realize that while Oliver may have been home, he still wasn't back yet._

_Later that night, as a storm raged outside the mansion, in his room Oliver slept on the floor besides his open window, with rain pelting him as he slept fitfully. A voice could be heard counting "One, two, three, four…", and suddenly the screen flashed back to the stateroom on the Gambit. Oliver was busy opening a bottle of wine as Sara sat on the bed, counting the beats between the lightning flashes and thunder. "It's getting closer." Sara said, as the lights flashed on and off._

"_That's not very scientific." Oliver said teasingly._

"She was always afraid of thunder." Laurel said sadly. "Oh, Sara…"

"God, I don't want to be seeing this." Quentin said, disgusted.

"_What would you know about science, Mr. Ivy league dropout?" she asked as he brought two glasses of wine to the bed._

"_I happen to know a lot about science." Oliver said, handing her a glass. "I know about fermentation. I know biology…" he trailed off as he kissed her. The broke apart and Sara leaned back smiling._

"_Laurel's gonna kill me." She said, putting the glass down on the nightstand. "Oh, she's so gonna kill me."_

"_Your sister will never know." Oliver assured her, pressing her down into the mattress. "Come here." _

"Damn you, Ollie." Laurel whispered angrily. Quentin's eyes narrowed, wondering why this memory was playing.

_Sara laughed and they kissed some more, and suddenly there was a loud crack of thunder. Sara broke away, slightly panicked. "Ok, that one was really close." She said nervously._

"No…" Suddenly, Quentin understood. "Oh god, no… please…. I don't want to see this…."

"Dad?" Laurel looked at her stricken father, then back at the memory. At once, she knew as well.

"_Sara," Oliver said, grinning at the girl, "we're gonna be fine." Suddenly, without warning, the room seems to flip and suddenly the far wall became the floor. Oliver and Sara were thrown out of the bed, slamming into the wall. Oliver staggered to his knees, pulling himself up on the edge of the bed._

"_Sara?" he called out, looking around. There, across the room near the door lay Sara, a small cut on her head bleeding. She blinked in confusion, then look up and back at Oliver. She reached for him- but was suddenly swept from the room "Sara!" Oliver screamed as the water claimed him, too. _

There was a heart-wrenching scream from Quentin as he watched his youngest daughter be claimed by the sea. He slid off the couch to the floor, sobbing, and was followed quickly by Laurel, who tired to comfort him despite her own tears.

Malcolm paused the memory, allowing the two Lances time to grieve. He felt the stirrings of remorse- after all, it had been his decision to sabotage the yacht, which led to her death. 'But if she hadn't been sneaking around with Oliver,' he thought to himself, 'then she wouldn't have been on the yacht in the first place. And it was Robert's fault for allowing his son to come with him.'

Moira looked at the fallen detective in sympathy, all traces of the anger she had felt at him moments ago gone. She knew the pain of losing a child- but to see it happen, to see it and be helpless- she could not fathom it. Thea sat next to her, crying; she too knew the pain of losing someone close, but unlike Laurel, she got her sibling back.

Tommy got up and moved over to Laurel, putting a comforting arm around her shoulder. She threw herself into his arms, burying her face into his shoulder. He rubbed comforting circles on her back. "I'm so sorry, Laurel," he murmured to her. "I'm so, so sorry."

Slade watched the display impassively. He could tell them that Sara had lived- but what good would it do? She still died a year later, in much the same circumstance. Besides, seeing her family suffer was almost good enough recompense for the kid having chosen her over Shado.

While Felicity cried with the others, Diggle got up. He walked over to Quentin and pulled him up gently. "On your feet, soldier." He said quietly. "Come on, you need to be strong for the daughter you still have." He urged, glancing down at Laurel and Tommy. Lance took a few deep breaths, then wiped the tears away from his still-damp eyes.

"I'm alright," he said brokenly.

"You sure?" Dig asked. Lance nodded, then quietly broke free and reached down to Laurel. "Come here, sweetie." He said. Laurel forced herself up and hugged her father fiercely. Dig looked down at the boy and gave him a nod; Tommy picked himself up and moved back to sit besides Thea, giving her some comfort.

**Control Room**

* * *

><p>Mia walked back in the room and checked the monitor, mentally doing the math on the time.<p>

"The Gambit?" she asked Roy. He nodded, and she took her seat next to him.

"Have you talked to her?" he asked. Mia nodded.

"Yeah. She says she might come up soon, but she's refusing to talk to them. Doesn't want to get their hopes up for nothing, she says."

Roy snorted. "Play her this then, see what she says." Roy said, indicating the surveillance video.

"You know how stubborn she can be. It runs in the family."

Roy considered. "How about having Dinah talk with them?" he asked.

Mia snorted. "Yeah, 'cause she's been such a fan of this plan." She shook her head. "Dinah's the last person I want talking with them. No, it's Sara, or no one."

**Sitting Room**

* * *

><p>Everyone had retaken their seats. "Are we all ready to continue?" Malcolm asked. When no one objected, he un-paused the memory.<p>

_It seemed to take forever, but in reality it only took a few moments for Oliver to break the surface of the ocean. He gasped for breath and looked around frantically. "Sara!" he screamed. _

"_Oliver!" Robert called from the life raft. Oliver frantically swum for the raft, and Robert and a crewman pulled him onboard._

Despite herself, Thea leaned forward excitedly. "Dad!" she exclaimed.

Malcolm's eyes narrowed. "You survived…' he thought.

"_Sara! Sara!" Oliver screamed. He lunged for the side, trying to get back in the water to find her. Robert grabbed him and held him in. "No! Dad, she's out there!"_

"_She's not there, Oliver. She's gone."_

_The flashback ended, and we see Moira leaning over Oliver, shaking him lightly. "Oliver, wake up." She said loudly, trying to be heard over the storm. She shook his shoulder again "Oliver…" _

_Suddenly Oliver awoke and, running on five years of survival instincts, grabbed his mother's arm and flipped her over him onto the floor. His hand came down to her neck just as Walter yelled "Oliver!"_

_Oliver blinked and looked down, seeing his mother there for the first time. Scarred at his own actions, he rapidly crawled away from his mother back towards the window. "I'm sorry," he said ashamedly. "I'm so… I'm so sorry."_

_Walter helped Moira up shakily. She knelt down in front of Oliver. "No, its ok, Oliver." She said in a soothing voice. "It's all right, sweetheart. "You're home. You're home." She emphasized._

_The scene shifted to the next day. Oliver pulled his old munitions crate out from under his bed, and deftly undid the lock. Opening the lid, he pulled out a small, worn book, and an arrowhead-shaped stone. The scene then shifted to Thea's room, where her friend Margo was crushing a pill into powder with the edge of her credit card._

Both Moira and Malcolm turned to stare at Thea, who shrank back into the couch. "I am sooo grounded." She moaned.

"Oh, I think we're well beyond grounding young lady." Moira said sternly.

"_Where did you get these?" Thea asked, smiling down at her friend as she leaned on her desk._

"_Roxies. Thank you, daddy's ACL tear." Margo replied smugly. Suddenly there was a knock on her door, and Margo hurriedly hid the pill bottle in her jacket as Thea hurriedly threw a folder over the line just as Oliver entered the room._

"_Ollie." Thea said with a smile. Oliver laughed lightly._

"_No one's called me that in a while, Speedy." He replied. Thea closed her eyes, half in annoyance and half in embarrassment._

"_Worst nickname ever."_

"_What, always chasing after me as a kid? I thought it fit pretty well." He replied. A beat. "Maybe it still does."_

"He knows." Tommy said. "And if he doesn't, I'll tell him."

"Tommy…"

"No, Thea" he said, cutting her off. "Snorting Oxycodone? That can kill you. And I will NOT stand by and watch you kill yourself."

"Why not, you've been standing by for five years." She shot back.

Tommy took a calming breath. "Your right," he admitted. "I have been. But I lost him, too. And I just wasn't strong enough to be there for you when I should have been." He looked at his new-found sister. "But I'm here now, and I'm not going anywhere."

Malcolm looked at his on with pride. There was the man he knew he could be.

_Margo took her cue and grabbed her bag. "See you at school, Speedy." She said. She threw a grin over her shoulder at Thea as she left. Thea laughed._

"_Sorry about her." She said._

"_I have something for you." Oliver held up the stone. Thea smiled in amazement._

"_You did not come back from a deserted island with a souvenir."_

"_It's a Hozen." Oliver explained. "And in Buddhism, it symbolizes reconnecting. I kept it in hopes that one day, it would reconnect me with you." He finished, handing the Hozen to his sister. Thea took it and smiled warmly at her brother._

"_A rock! That is sweet." A voice said from the door. Oliver smiled as Tommy entered the room. "You know," he started, "I want one of those t-shirts that says 'my friend was a castaway, and all I got was this crappy shirt'."_

"And just when I thought you were growing up, the other you had to open his mouth." Laurel joked, wiping away her tears.

_Thea smiled at his antics, then looked to her brother. "Don't let him get you into too much trouble." She advised. "You just got back. Take it slow." She embraced Oliver, who gave her a kiss on the cheek. Thea went back to her desk._

"_Ahem. The city awaits." Tommy announced, and after shooting Thea a smile, the two left the room. As they walked down the hallway, Tommy looked to Oliver. "Have you noticed how hot your sister's gotten?" he asked, At Oliver's glare, "Because I have not."_

Malcolm put his head in his hand, shaking it as Moira glared at the young man.

"And now I feel like I need a shower." Tommy said, uncomfortable. At Moira's glare, he added "In my defense, I didn't know I was related to her there, obliviously." If anything, her glared worsened.

Lance snorted. "Yeah, good defense." He said sarcastically.

Tommy looked over at Thea. "Feel free to help me out here." He begged.

Thea sat back with her arms crossed. "I'm already in enough trouble." She said. "I'm not saying anything."

_The scene shifted again, and now Tommy an Oliver were driving through the Glades in Tommy's Mercedes with the radio blaring._

"_Your funeral blew." Tommy announced. Oliver looked over at him with a grin._

"_Did you get lucky?" he asked, and they both laughed._

"_Fish in a barrel." Tommy said. "They were so sad."_

Laurel snorted in disgust. "You are such a pig, Tommy."

Slade, of all people, gave him a thumbs up.

"_No." Oliver said jokingly._

"_And huggy." Tommy continued. "And I am counting on another target rich environment for your welcome home bash."_

_Oliver looked to his friend in confusion. "At my what?"_

"_You came back from the dead." Tommy stated. "This calls for a party. You tell me where and when. I'll take care of everything." They came to a stop at a corner. Across from them, a dilapidated building stood, with several homeless people out front standing close to a warming barrel. To the right stood an old, abandoned steel mill- The Queen steel mill. "And this city's gone to crap." Tommy continued. "Your dad sold his factory just in time. Why'd you want to drive through this neighborhood anyway?" he asked as Oliver looked at the factory._

"_No reason" he finally said._

"_So what'd you miss the most?" Tommy asked him, turning to him and grinning. "Steaks at the Palm, drinks at the station, meaningless sex?"_

"You got a one track mind, Tommy." Laurel said.

"_Laurel."_

"And so does he." Thea added.

_The smiled dropped off of his face. "Everyone is happy you're alive." He said, trying to reason with his friend. "You want to see the one person who isn't?"_

_Oliver just shrugged his shoulders._

_The scene shifted again to CNRI, where Joana was talking with Laurel._

"_Laurel, I just got this from Hunt's lawyers." She handed Laurel a folder. "They filed a change of venue. We are now in front of Judge Grell."_

"_Hunt funded Grell's reelection campaign." Laurel said, walking back towards her desk. Joanna joined her._

"_Mm-hmm." She said._

"_He's got Grell in his back pocket." Laurel stated. _

"_You know, its fun being your friend." Joanna replied. "I get to say 'I told you so' a lot."_

Malcolm's eyes narrowed. He wondered if Grell needed to meet his 'enforcer'.

"_No." Laurel shook her head. "Adam Hunt is not smarter than we are."_

"_No, he's just richer and willing to commit multiple felonies."_

"_We don't need to go outside the law," Laurel started._

_"To find justice." Joanna finished. " Your dad's favorite jingle." Joanna smiled and walked away, and Laurel turned around-_

_To see Oliver Queen standing by her desk, looking at her board on Adam Hunt. Oliver looked over to Laurel and gave a slight smile_

"_Hello, Laurel."_

_The scene shifted, and the two were walking through an outdoor plaza. "You went to law school." Oliver was saying, "You said you would."_

"_Yeah." Laurel agreed sullenly. "Everyone's proud."_

"_Adam Hunt's a heavy hitter." Olive tried. "You sure you want to get in the ring with him?"_

"_Five years and you want to talk about Adam Hunt?" she asked. Oliver shook his head._

"_No. Not really." Laurel sighed and they stopped walking, Oliver turning to face her._

"_Why are you here, Ollie?" she asked tiredly._

"_To apologize." Oliver replied. "It was my fault. I wanted to ask you not to blame her."_

"_For what?" she asked. "Falling under your spell? How could I possibly blame her for doing the same things that I did?"_

"_I never meant to-"_

"_She was my sister." Laurel cut him off. "I couldn't be angry because she was dead. I couldn't grieve because I was so angry. That's what happens when your sister dies while screwing your boyfriend." She paused to compose herself. "We buried an empty coffin," she finally said, "because her body was at the bottom of the ocean- where __**you**__ left her. It should have been you." _

Laurel dropped her head into her hands.

_Oliver looked pained, the truth of her words stinging. "I know that it's too late to say this, but I'm sorry." He said at last._

"_Yeah, I'm sorry, too." Laurel replied acidly. "I'd hoped that you'd rot in hell a whole lot longer than five years." She stalked past him back to CNRI. As she passed by Tommy, she asked' "How did you think that was gonna go, Tommy?"_

"_About like that." He replied._

"God, could I been an even bigger bitch?" she asked redundantly.

"I'm shocked you didn't deck him." Thea added.

"In your defense, you did have a legitimate reason to be angry." Felicity said.

_Soon, Tommy and Oliver were walking back towards the alley where Tommy had parked his car._

"_Ok, so we took care of that." Tommy was saying. "Good call. Now we can make up for lost time. If you're not too sick of fish, I suggest we find some leggy models and eat Sushi all day. What do you say?" he stopped suddenly as a van came from out of nowhere and pulled up right behind his car, slamming on the breaks before it hit the two friends. Two men in demon masks and blue hoodies came out of nowhere. "What're they doing?" Tommy asked, startled. Before either boy could react, the masked men shot the pair with tranquilizer darts. Tommy went down immediately, but Oliver took a few more moments, as he started fading, he saw an cook come out of the back of a restaurant, taking out the trash. He only had time to say "What the hell?" before a third demon-masked man with a submachine gun shot him. The Last thing Oliver saw before he passed out was one of the demon masks peering down at him._

Moira stared at the screen, her hands clenching Thea's, terrified by what she had just seen. Tommy, likewise, stared pale-faced. Malcolm looked at his son, then glanced at Moira, who steadfastly refused to look his direction. 'Something I had done, I wonder?" he thought to himself.

_The scene flashed back to the life raft, where the three survivors sat, floating on the rough sea at night. Robert handed Oliver a bottle of water. "Here, son." He said, "Drink."_

"_What the hell are you doing?!" the crewman shouted. "That's all we've got!"_

_Robert glared at the man. "If anybody's making it out of here, it's gonna be him." He said as Oliver took a drink of water. Robert put an arm around his shoulders and pulled him closer to his chest._

"_I'm so sorry." He said. "I thought I'd have more time. I'm not the man you think I am. I didn't build our city, I failed it. And I wasn't the only one."_

Moira's face paled further, and she finally glanced over at Malcolm, whose jaw was clenched tightly.

_The scene faded to black, and suddenly a voice could be heard._

"_Mr. Queen? Mr. Queen!" the blackness was lifted, reveling one of the demon masked men as he pulled the bag up from over Oliver's head. The man held a Taser and hit the activation stud, causing a current of electricity to flow between the two prongs at the end. "Did your father survive that accident?" Oliver remained silent, looking around the room. He saw three men, one with a submachine gun, another, also with a gun, standing near Tommy, who was still passed out on a wooden pallet. "I ask the questions." The man said, "You give me the answers." Oliver was still silent, so the man stuck the Taser on his chest, shocking him. Oliver groaned loudly behind clenched teeth. "Did he make it to the island? Did he tell you anything?" the mask asked again, and again Oliver was silent, so he taserd him. Oliver let out another groan. Finally, he looked up at the mask. _

"_Yes, he did." He said._

Moira gasped.

"_What did he tell you, Mr. Queen?"_

_Oliver looked right into the darkened eyeholes of the mask. "He told me I'm gonna kill you."_

_The mask and his friends all shared a laugh. "You're delusional." He said finally. "You're zip-cuffed to that chair."_

_Oliver lifted his now-freed hands. "Not anymore." He said. Then, before they could react, he went into motion. He ducked a punch from his interrogator, and then flipped the chair up to block a second. He reversed the chair, sending the hard edge of the seat into the chest of the second man, then ripped out of back seat posts and spun around, staking the interrogator in the heart. For good measure, he brought the taser up and shocked him under his jaw, sending him to the floor. He grabbed the second man and swung him around in front of his as a shield, just as the third man fired. The bullets hit the second guy in the chest killing him. Seeing that, the third bolted from the room. Oliver let the man drop and ran over to Tommy. Bending down he checked his pulse, making sure his friend was alive. Noting that he was, Oliver took off after the third man, just as Tommy started to come around._

_As Oliver started gaining ground, the man fired wildly behind him. Oliver was able to duck and doge out of the way of the fire. They made it into another warehouse and the man fired wildly once more spraying bullets everywhere, once more Oliver was able to stay ahead of the fire, jumping off a platform and grabbing on to some chains, as the man frantically tried to reload. Oliver didn't give him a chance, swinging around and launching himself at the man. A punch to the face bent the man backwards, and Oliver spun around, wrapping his arm around the man's neck from behind in a reverse choke._

"_You killed that man." Oliver said, holding the man in place._

"_You don't have to do this." He gasped out._

"_Yes, I do." Oliver replied, then with a jerk, broke the man's neck. "Nobody can know my secret."_

Malcolm once more paused the memory, and everyone stared at the screen in shock.

"Holy mother of god…" Lance said. Laurel looked stricken, having just seen the man she had once love kill.

"Hmm." Slade smirked. "Kid's gotten better."

Tommy stared at the man. "Better than what?!" he exclaimed. "He just killed three people!"

"How exactly do you know Oliver, Mr. Wilson?" Malcolm asked eyeing the man.

"I'm one of the people who taught him how to fight." He said. "I have a feeling we'll be seeing some of that in the coming days.

"You taught him how to be a murder?" Thea spat. Slade stared back coolly.

"I taught him how to survive." He shook his head. He could not believe he was about to defend Oliver. "In case you missed it, those men forcibly took Oliver and young Mr. Merlyn," he gestured at Tommy. "They showed they were willing to kill by taking out a witness. They had automatic weapons and his friend unconscious at their feet." Slade sat forward, staring at the group. "This is not a fantasy, this is not a game. This is real life. And in real life sometimes you realize that the only safe enemy is a DEAD enemy." He leaned back in his chair, steeping his fingers. "The kid assessed his situation and deemed the best course of action was termination of the enemy combatants, which he then carried out. If I were grading him for A.S.I.S., I'd say he passed with flying colors.

"Those first two, I could understand," Lance said. "That was justifiable homicide if I ever saw it. But he chased down that third guy like a dog, and then broke his neck. THAT is murder."

"No, it was self defense." Diggle said. Everyone turned to look at him. "Someone hired those men," he started to explain. "Someone wanted intel about Oliver- about what he knew, what his father told him, whatever. But if that guy escaped and made it back to his employer or employers, he could tell them exactly how Oliver responded to their threats, about how he fought- about how capable he is." He shrugged his shoulders. "That kind of intel could be equally dangerous for him, and could convince who ever hired the thugs to take him out." He looked at Moira and Thea. "They might also not care about collateral damage, so killing him and his entire family might not be out of the realm of possibility." Diggle finished.

'Good point.' Malcolm thought.

"Why don't we finish this before we all rush to judgment?" Felicity suggested. "After all, these memories are supposed to chronicle how he became a hero, not a serial killer." Thea snorted at that. Malcolm started the memory again.

_The scene shifted to the sitting room at Queen Manor, where Oliver was being interviewed by Detective Lance and his partner, Detective Hilton. Moira and Walter were there as well, and on the coffee table before them lay the sketch of Oliver and Tommy's 'savior', a man in a hood._

"_So that's your story." Lance was saying. "A guy in a green hood flew in and single-handedly took out 3 armed kidnappers." He shrugged. "I mean, who is he? Why would he do that?"_

_Oliver shrugged in return. "I don't know. Find him and you can ask."_

"_Yeah." Lance said doubtfully. He looked over at Tommy. "What about you? You see the hood guy?"_

"_I saw…" Tommy hesitated for a moment, his eyes flickering over to Oliver, who was looking back at him with an unreadable expression. "Just movement." He said finally. "Everything blurry. I was kind of out of it."_

"_Yeah." Lance replied, disbelieving. He looked back to Oliver. "It's funny, isn't it? One day back, and already somebody's gunning for you. Aren't you popular?"_

_Moira's eyes narrowed at Lance. "Were you able to identify the men?" she asked._

"_Scrubbed identities, untraceable weapons." Hilton said. "These were pros."_

"_Yeah." Lance added. "Well, they probably figured you'd pay a king's ransom to get your boy back- or a Queen's ransom, as it were." His gaze turned to Oliver. "After all, a parent would do anything to keep their child safe."_

"_I don't find your tone appropriate, Detective." Moira interjected. Walter slowly stood._

"_If Oliver can think of anything else, he'll be in touch." He said. "Thank you, gentlemen, for coming."_

_Lance gave a cold smile and rose, tucking the drawing back into his travel case. He stared at Oliver. "Your luck never seems to run out, does it?" he said, before he and his partner leave. Oliver walks over the window and takes a calming breath, before turning back and looking at Tommy, who stares back with an unreadable expression of his own._

"So," Tommy started. "What's the over/under on how long 'till Detective Lance arrests Oliver?" he asked. Thea glared at him and he shrugged. "He obviously suspects him."

"Do you?" Laurel asked. "I mean, do you think the other you does?"

Tommy considered. "I have no idea; it depends on how out of it I was at the time." He sat back. "I probably suspect something, but if I didn't just see it with my own eyes, I wouldn't believe Oliver could kill anybody.

"Neither would I." everyone looked at Lance in surprise. "Look, I still think the kids a no good son of a…" he trailed off at Moira's scowl, "well, you know. And I have no doubt that he could kill someone accidentally. But I don't think he could take out three trained pros by himself. I just wouldn't think he had it in him."

"That must have been incredibly hard for you to say, Quentin." Moira said acidly.

"You have no idea." He replied.

_Next, we find ourselves in Oliver's room. He's studying news clipping son his computer about Adam Hunt. He looks at his father's book, and sure enough Adam Hunt is a name on The List._

Malcolm's eyes widened. 'He has the book!"

"_You are different."_

_Oliver looks up and smiles at Raisa as she enters his room with a tray of food. As she approaches, he turns the book over and clears his monitor. "Not like you to read a book."_

"_I missed you, Raisa." He said warmly._

"_No kitchen on the island?" she joked._

"_No." Oliver says. "No friends either." _

Slade snorted in disgust.

_He stood and walked towards her, taking the tray. "Hey. Thank you." He took the tray and sat it down on his bed, then looked back at the maid. "Do I really seem different?"_

"_No." she said. "You're still a good boy."_

"_Oh, I think we both know I wasn't."_

"_But a good heart." She added warmly. Oliver smiled._

"_I hope so." He said. "I want to be the person you always told me I could be."_

_The scene shifted, and Oliver now we see Oliver leaving the mansion. _

"_Oliver," Moira's voice called out, stopping him in his tracks, he turned to see his Mother, Walter, and a tall, well-built black man. "I want to introduce you to someone," she was saying. "John Diggle. He'll be accompanying you from now on."_

"This is where I come in." Diggle noted.

_Oliver smiled. "I don't need a babysitter." He argued._

"_Darling, Oliver's a grown man." Walter added. "And if he doesn't feel he needs armed protection…" _

"_Yes, I understand," Moira interjected, "but this is something I need." Oliver smiled at his mother, then looked once more at the bodyguard._

_Soon, Diggle was driving the Bentley downtown, with Oliver in the back._

"_So…what do I call you?" he asked. Diggle glanced in the rear-view mirror at his principal as he drove. _

"_Diggle's good." He said. "Dig if you want."_

"_You're ex-military?"_

"_Yes, sir." He replied. "105__th__ Airborne out of Kandahar, retired. Been in the private sector a little more than four years now." He glanced in the mirror again. "I don't want there to be any confusion, Mr. Queen. My ability to keep you from harm will outweigh your comfort. Do we have an agreement? Sir?" He heard the sound of the back door opening then closing in rapid succession. He glanced over his shoulder to see that Oliver was gone. "Sir!" he called out, slamming on the brakes. He got out of the car and hurried around to the back, throwing open the back door to see the car deserted. He looked around in vain- but Oliver was gone._

"Wow." Tommy said. "That has to be some kind of record. You had him for what, fifteen minutes?"

"Well, obviously he's learned how to evade." Diggle protested, upset with himself for how easily Oliver had slipped the leash.

_The scene shifted, and we see Oliver walking down in the heart of the Glades. He had picked up new clothes and gear, and now he made his way back to the abandoned Queen steel mill. He tossed his bags over the high fence, and then jumped the fence himself. Picking up the bags, he calmly walked into the mill. Long abandoned, the mill was an empty husk. Trash littered the floor, and Oliver stopped when something caught his eye. Bending down, he found an old Queen Consolidated annual report, his father's face on the cover. He picked it up and stared at it._

'_The abduction was unexpected.' His voice sounded. 'It forced me to move up my plans, but what I told the police was true. The man in the green hood was there in that warehouse, and he's just beginning.' _

"What plans?" Lance wondered. "What the hell is this kid doing?"

"You know," Felicity started, "I talk with a friend I met in grad school- she lives in Gotham, now- and she told me not to long ago about rumors of some nutjob dressing up like a bat, jumping off rooftops and beating up street thugs."

Lance looked at her. "You think that's Oliver?" he asked incredulously.

Felicity shook her head. "No, but we already saw he can fight, and now he's ditched his security so he could go set up a secret…lair…" she trailed off as the memory continued.

_What followed were a series of images as Oliver began building his lair- knocking down walls, breaking through the floor to the basement below, maneuvering a generator and other equipment he had had delivered via unconventional sources. Soon, he had several tables set up, lights over each of the tables flickered on when he powered up the generator. He set up his computer system at the forefront and started uploading and sorting files. While the computes worked, he worked two- first on creating new arrows with the machine tools, then on working out his body- doing several reps on the salmon ladder, inverted crunches, and other exercises. _

Felicity and Laurel stared at Oliver's buff form in slack-jawed admiration; even Thea was amazed.

"I've never seen him work so hard." She muttered.

Tommy looked down at his slightly flabby chest. "Wow," he sighed. "Don't I feel inferior right about now?"

"I still think you're hot." Thea said absently, then blanched. Laurel tried to hold in her laughter as Thea glared at her mother. "You couldn't have told me we were related any sooner?" she groused.

_Finally, he pulled his munitions box out and set it on a table, opening it up. He pulled out his custom recurve bow, strapped his quiver to his back, and loaded up a bucket with tennis balls. Steadying himself, he knocked over the bucket and let the balls bounce out onto the floor. At once, he started drawing, nocking, and firing arrows, one after the other, until all of the tennis balls were pinned to the wall, each with an arrow dead center._

"He's good." Malcolm said in admiration.

_Later, Oliver is sitting at his new computer station watching a news report about Hunt. "The suit alleges that Hunt committed multiple acts of fraud and theft against the city's underprivileged. Laurel Lance, an attorney for the city necessary…" the news report tuned out as Oliver began speaking his thoughts once more._

'_Adam Hunt his crimes go deeper than fraud and theft, but he's been able to bully, bribe, or kill anyone who's gotten into his way.' Oliver moved from his weapons table to the crate and pulled out a familiar green hood. 'He hasn't met me yet.'_

_The scene shifted to a parking garage where Adam Hunt, Laurel's boss Eric Gitter, and two of Hunt's bodyguards were swiftly walking._

"_You remind Grell I put him on the bench, I can take him off." Hunt said viciously. "I will turn him into a cautionary tale."_

"_Yes, Mr. Hunt." Gitter replied._

"THAT SON OF A BITCH!" Laurel shouted.

"_And this attorney, Laurel Lance? You said she wasn't gonna be a problem anymore." Hunt continued. "I told you to fix that situation." He stopped and looked at Gitter. "Why are you still here?" Gitter nodded subserviently and left. _

"I am going to kick his ASS when I get back." She seethed. "No wonder I got blindsided by the change in venue! Eric was probably sandbagging us all along!

"That's how men like Hunt work, Ms. Lance." Malcolm said. "I've had the unfortunate pleasure of having to deal with them on occasion. They are part of the disease that's killing our city."

_The other three men continued the walk to his car, when suddenly a light exploded behind them. The first guard turned to look, his hand going for his gun in his waistband- until an arrow pierced his hand and gut, pinning it there. The guard fell with a cry, while the second guard pushed Hunt into the back of the limo. "Get in the car!" he commanded, and then turned around, drawing his weapon and firing several times into the darkened garage. He paused, searching for a target. _

"_Hey." A voice called out, "You missed."_

_Hunt listened inside the car as his second man was taken down, and suddenly a window shattered. He looked up to see an arrow lodged in the seatback. He reached for it in puzzlement-_

_And then suddenly he was yanked through the shattered window and tossed to the ground. He scrambled onto his back, to see Oliver, in his green uniform, hood, and grease paint over his eyes. The brim of the hood was pulled low to distort his face._

_And he had an arrow nocked and aimed right at Hunt's chest._

"Holy shit." Thea said.

"I did not see this coming." Tommy paused. "Probably should have, given future-Thea, but still…"

"_Aah!" the man screamed. "What? What? Just… just tell me what you want!"_

_The Hood jumped off the room of the car and hauled Hunt to his feet. "You're gonna transfer $40 million into Starling city bank account 1141 by 10 P.M. tomorrow night." He demanded._

"_Or what?" Hunt shot back, a scowl on his face._

"_Or I'm gonna take it, and you won't like how." The Hood replied, then turned and walked away. _

_Gaining courage at the Arrows retreating back, Hunt shouted, "If I see you again, you're dead!" In response, The Hood in one fluid motion turned and fired an arrow into the back window of the limo. Hunt looked at the hole in shock, then turned back to the Hood-_

_But he was already gone._

"Well, it could be worse." Felicity said after a moment.

"How could this possibly be worse?" Lance demanded.

"At least he's not dressed like a bat."

The laughter from the control room could be heard down the hall.

_The scene shifted to the next day, at Adam Hunt's penthouse apartment, where Hunt was giving his stated to Lance and Hilton._

"_He was wearing a hood, a green hood," he was saying, "And he had a bow and arrow." The two cops glance at one another, and Hunt misinterpreted their looks. "What, you don't believe me?" he picked up and arrow that was lying on his desk and handed it to Lance. "That maniac put two of my men in the hospital."_

_Lance took the arrow and looked it over. "Well, thanks for your statement. We'll put out an APB on," he looked back up at Hunt and said, slightly mockingly, "Robin Hood."_

Tommy snorted.

_Hunt scowled and to into Lances face. "Hey, pal. I'm not some grocer who got taken for his register. I go to the front of the line." He stepped back and looked at both cops. "Now he said he would be back here by 10 P.M. Make sure you're here first. You can coordinate with Mr. Drakon, my new head of security." He gestured to a tall, thin man in black._

"Great." Lance groused. "Now I'm wishing Queen had put an arrow in the guy."

"There's still time." Slade remarked.

"_All right." Lance said finally. "Well, uh, thanks for your time." The two partners turned and left. As they walked to the elevator, Hilton said, "It looks like Queen was telling the truth."_

"_Yeah." Lance said grudgingly, "Well, there's a first time for everything. This hooded guy comes looking for trouble," he finishes as the doors to the elevator start to close, "he'll find it."_

_The scene shifts back to Queen Manor, where Oliver is exiting. He opens the back door of the Bentley-_

_To see John Diggle sitting in the back already._

"_Put on your seat belt, sir." Dig says with a smile. "Wouldn't want you to miss your party." Oliver smiles in amusement in return as he gets in._

"Nice to see you learn from your mistakes, Mr. Diggle." Moira said.

"I've run security for several rich guys over the past few years." Dig remarked. "But I have a feeling he'll be the most difficult- if not the most interesting."

_We cut to the Iron Works Building, where Oliver's 'Welcome Home' party was already in full swing with music blaring and plenty of hot girls writhing on the dance floor. Oliver walked down the main staircase, pausing only for a moment to check his new iPhone to see if Hunt had deposited the money yet._

_He hadn't._

"You know, for someone who supposedly is a hero, he sure seems interested in that money." Lance observed, earning a glare from Moira.

_Frowning momentarily, Oliver put the phone back into his jacket and once again slipped on his 'Oliver Queen- party boy' face just as Tommy saw him._

"_Everybody, hey!" he called out, signaling for the DJ to cut the music. "Man of the hour! Whoo! And, ladies, please give this man a proper homecoming!"_

'_We are the champions' started playing as Oliver made his way up to the main stage in the middle of the floor. "Thank you very much, everybody!" he called out as Tommy handed him a shot. He downed it fast and yelled, "I missed Tequila!" The crowd cheered as the music started up again._

Thea shook her head. "I can't believe how easily he can turn it on and off." She remarked.

"He was always a gifted liar," Laurel said, earning a sharp look from the girl that almost immediately softened. "Still," Laurel continued, "this is a whole new level for him."

_Across the street in Adam Hunt's penthouse, his security contingent was busy prepping clips and checking their automatic weapons, preparing for the coming fight. Hunt, drink in hand, frowned as he looked out his window._

"_What the hell's going on out there?" he demanded. _

"_It's across the street." Constantine Drakon replied. "Party for the guy that got rescued off that island Oliver Queen." Hunt nodded sourly and moved back to his desk._

Malcolm snorted in amusement. 'Oh, you clever boy.' He thought.

_Back at the party, Oliver smiled across the room at Diggle who stood in a corner, though his eyes never left his principal._

"_Hey." Tommy said, coming up next to his friend, "Does he wipe for you, too?" Oliver chuckled as Tommy threw an arm around his shoulders._

Tommy chuckled, but sobered quickly at Diggle's cold look, causing Thea to snicker.

"_Now by my rough estimate, you have not had sex in 1,839 days. As your wingman, I highly recommend Carmen Golden." He indicated three girls dancing on the stage._

"_Which one is she?" Oliver asked._

"_The one who looks like the chick from 'Twilight'."_

_"What's 'Twilight'?"_

"_You're so better off not knowing." Tommy responded, taking a sip of his drink._

"Amen." Felicity and Thea said together. Thea's smile quickly faded though as the party continued.

_Oliver looked out at the crowd and spotted something he didn't like- Thea, with some of her friends, talking with a guy on the floor. He saw her pass him some cash and palm a packet of pills in return. Oliver frowned. "Back in a minute." He told Tommy as he headed over to his sister. Diggle noticed his movement and moved to follow._

Thea shrank back in her seat as Moira, Malcolm, and Tommy glared at her. "Can a person be grounded for stuff they haven't actually done yet?" she asked generally.

"Sadly, I get the feeling these are all things you **have** done already." Moira noted.

_Thea smiled as he approached. "Ollie, hey!" she said as she grasped her arm, lightly pulling her away from her friends. "This party is sick!"_

"_Who let you in here?" Oliver demanded quietly._

"_I believe it was somebody who said, 'Right this way, Miss Queen'." She replied sarcastically. _

_"Well, you shouldn't be here."_

_Thea narrowed her eyes at him as she pulled her arm free. "I'm not 12 anymore." She said._

"_No." Oliver agreed. "You're 17."_

_Thea scoffed. "Ollie, I love you, but you can't come back here and judge me, especially for being just like you." She noted pointedly._

_Oliver sighed. "I know that it couldn't have been easy for you when I was… away," he started, but Thea cut him off with a small, incredulous laugh. "Away?" she started, "No. You died. My brother and my father died. I went to your funerals."_

"_I know," Oliver started, but Thea cut him off._

"_No, you don't." For the first time Oliver caught a glimpse of the pain Thea had been hiding ever since his return. "Mom had Walter, and I had no one. You guys all act like its cool; let's forget about the last 5 years. Well, I can't. For me, it's kind of permanently in there! So I'm sorry if I turned out some major disappointment, but this… me is the best I could do with what I had to work with." She finished, Oliver closed his eyes, unable to meet her gaze. Thea turned back to her friends. "Let's bounce." She said, and the quartet of girls walked away._

Thea sat back, drawing her knees to her chest, ignoring the looks of everyone around her. Tommy got up and moved back next to his half-sister.

"Thea, I know I haven't been there for you as much as I should have…"

"It's not your fault." She interrupted. "It's not like you knew you were my brother or anything."

"No, I didn't" he said. "But I owed it to Oliver to watch out for you; and I owed it to you to be there to lean on." He replied, putting an arm around her shoulders and pulling her in close. "You don't have to be alone anymore."

Thea snuggled into him gratefully.

"_You have the fun dip?" Margo asked. Thea, a little shaken, fumbles for her purse. "Yeah. It's right…" she felt around her purse, but couldn't find the packet of pills. "No." she said in confused embarrassment, "I…I must have dropped it."_

_Oliver stalked away. He paused at a trashcan to throw away the packet he had palmed from her purse; looking up he caught Diggle's' satisfied look at his actions. _

"And he palmed my stash." Thea groused.

"Not sure if I approve of putting arrows into people, but I whole-heartedly agree with that." Lance said. Moira rolled her eyes.

_Oliver turned and started to walk away-_

_Only to run into Laurel._

"_Oh!" he exclaimed. "Oh. You're here."_

"_Tommy." Laurel finally said. "He made the point that we have too many years between us to leave things the way we left them." She looked at Oliver, and then glanced around. "Is there someplace quieter that we could go?" _

"_Yeah."_

_They headed outside the main room onto the balcony that overlooked the entry hall. They walked together quietly for a few moments before Laurel spoke. "I'm sorry about saying that you should have been the one who died." She said as they walked. "That was wrong."_

"_If I could trade places with her, I would." Oliver replied sincerely._

"_About Sara." Laurel finally said, stopping and turning to face Oliver. "There's something that I've been afraid to ask, but I need to know."_

"_Ok." Oliver said warily._

"_When she died… did she suffer?"_

_Oliver thought back to that moment on the Gambit when Sara was sucked out the door and into the dark ocean beyond. "No." he lied._

Laurel closed her eyes, holding in her tears. "Oh, Ollie…."

"_I think about her every day." Laurel said after a breath. _

"_Me, too." Oliver agreed._

"_I guess we still have one thing in common then." Laurel commented. "I can't believe I'm gonna say this," she started, "but if you need someone to talk to about what happened to you, I'm here." For a moment, the mask he wore slipped off, and the real Oliver Queen gazed back at Laurel, wanting to take her up on that offer, but knowing he couldn't. The moment was ruined by a buzzing from Oliver's pocket. He took out his phone and glanced at the face- 10 P.M. He checked the account app- nothing. Oliver shook his head._

"_Something wrong?" Laurel asked. Oliver looked back up at his former love. _

"_I asked somebody to do something. They didn't do it." The mask slid back into place. "Laurel," he started, "You always saw the best in me. Right now, that's what you're doing, looking at me, and you're wondering if that island changed me somehow, if it made me a better person. It didn't." he smiled slightly. "Stay away from me. Otherwise I'm just gonna hurt you again, but this time, it will be worse." The playboy façade firmly in place, Oliver baked away from Laurel. "Got to roll." He said loudly. "I've got 5 years of debauchery to catch up on!"_

_Laurel looked at him in pity and disgust. "You know what, Oliver? You're wrong." She stalked up to him. "That island did change you. At least now you're honest." With that parting shot, Laurel walked away._

"Oh, Ollie." Laurel repeated, this time in annoyance. "Why do you have to do that?"

"Push you away, or be a dick?" Tommy asked, earning n elbow in the ribs from Thea. "Ow."

_Moments later, Oliver was walking though the service corridor when he was stopped by a now familiar voice. "Something I can help you with, sir?" John Diggle called out._

"_I just wanted a second to myself." Oliver tried. Dig smiled lightly. _

"_I would believe you, Mr. Queen, if you weren't so full of crap." He gestured to the doors. "Party's this way."_

_Oliver sighed in annoyance. He moved to the door and tired the handle. "It's locked." He lied. Dig looked at him for a few moments, and then moved to open the door. As he moved past Oliver, the younger man's arm shot out and caught Diggle in a chokehold, rendering him unconscious in moments._

Laurel looked at Diggle. "You actually fell for that?"

Diggle squirmed uncomfortably. "I'm supposed to be babysitting a spoiled rich kid, not James freakin' Bond." He said, defending himself.

_Across the street, Drakon positioned his men, then locked the doors to the penthouses' office. On the street, Lance and Hilton supervised the police and S.W.A.T., barricading the building. "It's past 10:00." He told Hunt. "He's never getting in here." Hunt nodded in agreement; outside the window, unnoticed by him, and arrow with a cable struck the wall and anchored itself._

"Son of a bitch." Lance said. "He's using his own party as cover to rob Hunt!"

"What's he going to do, shimmy over on the cable?" Thea asked.

"No," Malcolm said, "I don't think so."

_Hunt and Drakon stood calmly in the office with several other men, when suddenly the lights went out. Then, in the hallway, the elevator dinged._

_As soon as the doors opened and arrow shot out, killing one guard. Another arrow dropped another guard, and then The Hood was out, using his bow like an escrima stick, beating down the two guards closest to the elevator. He tossed the bow at a third, knocking him down even as he moved towards a fourth, jumping out of the way towards a pillar as the guard fired, then propelling himself off the same pillar and coming down hard on the guard, breaking his neck. He rolled, retrieved and moved behind another pillar as the last guard opened fire. _

_Inside the office, Hunt paced nervously as he heard the sounds of gunfire- and then suddenly all was silent. For a moment nothing happened, and then suddenly a figure burst through the glass doors. A guard in the room opened fire, spraying the figure with bullets, only stopping, too late, when he realized it was one of the guards from outside he had just killed. The Hood then killed him with an arrow to the heart, and then unleashed his furry on the last guard, breaking his nose and crushing his throat with the bow. He pulled an arrow and shot at Hunt; the arrow impacted the wall behind the desk. _

Laurel shuddered. "I can't get over how easily he can kill those people." She said. Tommy nodded in agreement.

"_You missed." Hunt sneered at the Emerald Archer, even as The Hood nocked another arrow and held it on Hunt._

"_Really?" he said. Suddenly Drakon was on him, flinging his bow away and attacking him with furious punches and kicks. Oliver held his own as Hunt scurried out the room, rapidly he pulled out his phone and called own to Lance. "He's here!" he screamed into the phone. On the ground, Lance got on his walkie-talkie._

"_All units, converge! All units, converge! "He cried out to the men on the ground as they stormed the building. As they all ran up the stairs, The Hood and Drakon continued to fight. Oliver was more than a match for the senior guard, but Drakon was crafty. He pulled out his knife and lunged; Oliver parried and quickly disarmed him. They crashed to the ground, with Drakon falling just in range of one of his men's Uzi's. He grabbed the gun and Arrow ran for Hunt's desk. Drakon opened fire just as The Hood, in one fluid motion, leapt over the desk, pulled a flechette from his arm and threw it back at Drakon, striking and killing the man. The Hood landed hard, stunned into momentary unconsciousness. A moment later, the sounds of Police out in the hall startled the young man back to wakefulness. He gasped, and then staggered to his feet, pulling a round out of his bulletproof vest that had been concealed under his green jacket. _

"_Lay down your weapons, or we will open fire!" the cops screamed, coming to the door. "I repeat, lay down your weapons…" _

"I got him!" Lance realized. "There's no way out of there!"

"Oh, I wouldn't bet on that, Detective." Slade said.

_Without hesitation, The Hood leapt to his feet and shot an arrow that disarmed both cops simultaneously. But Lance was right behind them and opened fire, tracing a line of bullets just behind The Hood- _

_As he leapt through a window._

_Lance and Hilton ran to the window, only to see the hooded man using his bow to cross the zip-line he had set up earlier, back to the Iron Works. Hilton and Lance exchanged disbelieving glances._

Tommy exploded into astonished laughter as Lance's face fell.

"Are you kidding me?!" Thea exclaimed. Moira and Laurel just stared in shock.

"_Tell me you saw that." Hilton said. Lance took a breath._

"_Ok." He said, then to the rest of the cops, "Let's go. Move."_

_Minutes later, the cops stormed the party. A man in S.W.A.T. gear rushed up to the DJ booth and shut it down, just as Lance entered, giving orders to his men._

"_Search the building roof to basement. Find him!" He raised his voice to the crowd. "Starling City police! The party's over, kids." He looked around and saw a familiar face. "Oh, Mr. Merlyn." He said acidly, even as Tommy grinned at the cop in amusement. "Imagine my shock at finding you here. Did you roofie anyone special tonight, huh?"_

Tommy glared at Lance. "I have NEVER had to use drugs to get any, Detective." He snarled.

"_Detective!" a voice called out. Lance turned to see Oliver walking towards him. "It's a private party."_

"_Yeah?" Lance shot back. "Well, there was an incident at Adam Hunt's building tonight. You know anything about that?" he asked._

"_Who's Adam Hunt?" Olive asked, bored._

"_He's a millionaire bottom feeder, and I'm kind of surprised you aren't friends."_

"_I've been out of town for a… while." Oliver said mildly. Tommy let out a soft laugh._

"_Yeah." Lance agreed. "Well, he just got attacked by the guy with the hood, the guy that saved your ass the other day."_

"_The hood guy." Oliver said._

"_Yeah." Lance replied._

"_You didn't find him?" Oliver asked, then smiled. "I'm gonna offer a reward. Hey, everybody!" Oliver turned around and shouted to his fellow partiers. He held up two fingers. "$2 million to anybody that can find a nut bar in a green hood." _

Tommy and Thea snickered. Lance snorted in annoyance. "what a grand-stander.."

"Theatricality and deception can be powerful tools, Detective." Malcolm said.

_The crowd cheered in response, and Oliver turned back to Lance. The older cop walked right up to Oliver._

"_Did you even try to save her?" he demanded; any feelings of satisfaction Oliver had felt a moment ago vanished in an instant. Hilton saw what was happening and interceded, putting a calming hand on Lance and pushing him away lightly. "Ok, he said quietly, "Let's go, partner." Lance, though, wouldn't be deterred._

"_Did you even try to save my daughter?" he demanded._

Lance closed his eyes in shame as Laurel placed a comforting hand on his knee.

"_Sara wouldn't want this." Hilton said, leading Lance away. "Partner, let's go." Oliver's face was set in stone, as the cops left, but after a moment he made his way onto the stage. "It's way too quiet in here!" he yelled with a smile, throwing out his arms. "This is a party!" The crowd cheered as Oliver made his way off the stage. Tommy came up to him, giving him a strange look. _

"_Some coincidence," he said, "I mean, you asking to have your party here, and Hunt getting robbed right next door… and by the same guy who rescued us at the warehouse." His tone inferred he was suspicious. Oliver gave him a tight smile._

"_If I were you, Tommy, I'd just be glad you're alive." He advised calmly._

_Tommy stared back at his friend; for the first time since they had met, he truly felt like he didn't know the person standing in front of him. "What happened to you on that island?" he asked haltingly._

"That's a real good question." Tommy muttered.

"_A lot." Oliver replied before walking away._

_The next day, Adam Hunt was pacing his office, screaming into his phone at his accountant. "What the hell are you talking about? $40 million doesn't just up and vanish!" the accountant said something, and he scoffed. "Untraceable?! It is $40 million! Find it!" he ended the call and slammed the phone own onto the desk. He sank into his chair and put his head in his hands, defeated. "How did he do it?" he asked himself while ignoring the arrow embedded in his wall. He paid no attention to it, or to the electronic device that was attached to it; its indicator light blinking green._

Malcolm smirked. 'Well played.' He thought.

_Meanwhile back at the foundry. Oliver watched as the $40 million transferred from Hunt International's account into a trust account he had set up. He then glanced over at a second screen, where another program was transferring that money back to the people which Hunt had stolen it from. He picked up the notebook, and calmly crossed Adam Hunt's name off The List. Oliver looked at the picture of his father on the shareholders report._

"A real Robin hood." Laurel remarked. Lance shook his head. He was about to say something, but the memory playing caught his attention.

_The scene shifted back to the raft. It looks to have been several days. The crewman dozed across from Robert and Oliver, perched on the side of the raft with a knife held loosely in his hand. Robert glanced at the man, and then pulled Oliver in close._

"_There's not enough for all of us." He whispered to his son._

"_Save your strength." Oliver said, weakly._

"_You can survive this," Robert insisted. "Make it home, make it better. Right my wrongs. But you got to live through this first." Oliver appeared to doze off, so Robert shook him lightly. "You hear me, Ollie?" he demanded. "You hear me, son?"_

Moira lifted her hands to her mouth. "Oh, Robert…" she said with tears in her eyes. Thea sniffled, moving away from Tommy and into her mother's side.

"_Just rest, dad." Oliver said tiredly, dozing off once more. Robert seemed to come to a decision._

"_No." he said quietly, kissing his son on the forehead. He gently moved Oliver away from him, propping him up against the edge of the raft. Then, eyeing the crewman, he reached into his jacket-_

_And pulled out a gun. The crewman only had a moment to look surprised before Robert pulled the trigger, shooting the man in the head and knocking him off the raft. That woke Oliver up suddenly, and he scrambled back from his dad in shock._

Everyone else stared in shock as well, with Moira and Thea especially rattled. Malcolm leaned forward.

"_Dad?!"he exclaimed in stunned horror. _

_Robert looked sadly back at his son. "Survive." He said, and then he put the gun to his temple and pulled the trigger._

This time it was Moira who let out a heart-wrenching scream. Thea burrowed into her side, wracked with sobs. Moira glared at Malcolm as he paused the memory.

"Are you happy, you bastard." She seethed.

"Control yourself, Moira." Malcolm warned.

Moira let out a mirthless laugh. "Oh, why the hell should I?" she asked as the others looked on in confusion. "What are you going to do? Do you think all of your plans are going to stay hidden? **He has your list**, Malcolm!"

"Dad?" Tommy said, looking at his father in confusion. "What does she mean 'your list'? You mean that book?" he looked to Moira, who nodded shortly. He looked back to Malcolm. "What is that book, dad?"

Malcolm stared hard at Moira. "I'm sure it will be revealed." He said finally, turning the memory back on.

"_No!" Oliver screamed in horror. Then suddenly we were back in the Foundry as Oliver watched the money transfers end._

_The next day at CNRI, Laurel spent most of the afternoon and evening fielding calls from happy, if puzzled clients._

"_If, hypothetically, $50,000 magically appeared in your bank account, it might be best for you not to speak about it." She was saying into her phone as Joanna approached her desk. "To anyone. Ever." She smiled. "God bless you, too." She said as she hung up the phone._

"_I just got a very grateful phone call from one of our clients against Adam Hunt." Joanna said._

"_Me, too." Laurel replied, and the two laughed._

"So, I guess we know where the money went, now." A shaken Felicity said, the tension in the room nearly overwhelming her.

"Yeah." Lance agreed absently, wishing he had his gun.

"_It looks like Starling City has a guardian angel." She remarked. Joanna glanced back then said. "By the way, your cute friend's here." _

_Laurel's face fell as she figured she was talking about Oliver, but when Laurel turned around she saw Tommy standing there, smiling._

"_You left the party pretty quick last night," he was saying later as they walked down an ally towards his car. "Even after I made sure the bar was stocked with Pinot Noir."_

"_It wasn't really my scene." Laurel replied lightly._

"_I thought maybe you and Oliver went mano-a-mano again." He threw out, "I saw you two head out."_

"_There's nothing between Oliver and I," Laurel said with finality. "Not anymore."_

"_Here I thought the only thing between you and Oliver was us."_

"_I wouldn't exactly characterize us as an 'us', Tommy." Laurel said teasingly. Tommy stopped and turned to face her._

"_Then what would you call it?" he asked._

"_A lapse." She decided._

"_That's quite a few lapses" Tommy said with a grin. "Your place, my place, my place again…" they both laughed._

"_Oh, come on, Merlyn." Laurel said with a smile. "We both know that you're not a one-girl type of guy."_

"_Depends on the girl." He announced. Laurel smiled._

"_I have to go back to work." She said finally, turning to walk away._

"_Dinah Laurel Lance," Tommy called out, "Always trying to save the world." Laurel tuned around and smiled._

"_Hey." She said, "If I don't try and save it, who will?" she gave him a small wave, then turned and walked away. Tommy smiled and got in his car, and unnoticed by either of them, The Arrow sat perched on a fire escape high above, watching it all._

'_She says the island changed me.' Oliver's voice said. She has no idea how much.' Once more we are back on the raft. Oliver pulls himself up, looking over the edge of the raft into the distance- where Lian Yu lay waiting. 'There are many more names on the list, those who rule my city through intimidation and fear. Every last one of them will wish I had died on that island.'_

_Back at Queen Manor, a darkly-dressed man was walking down the rear steps towards the garden where another figure was waiting for him._

"_The police failed to identify the men I hired to kidnap Oliver," he said, "and they never will. Should we arrange another abduction?"_

"_No." Moira Queen said. "There are other ways of finding out what my son knows."_

Thea pulled away from her mother sharply, staring at her with wide eyes. "You hired those guys?" she said accusingly.

Moira looked to her daughter, wiping away the rest of her tears. "Yes," she admitted. "I suppose I would have hired them."

"Why?" Thea demanded. Moira turned and glared at Malcolm.

"To prove to **HIM** that Robert didn't tell him anything."

"Moira…." Malcolm said threateningly.

"Tell him anything about what? That book?" Tommy demanded.

"The book- or his 'Undertaking—"

"ENOUGH!" Malcolm roared, leaping to his feet. Moira drew back fearfully-

An arrow thudded into the table in front of Malcolm. She spun to the door to see Mia, another arrow nocked and aimed at his chest.

"Sit. DOWN." She ordered. Reluctantly he did so. "I told you that your secrets and lies would be exposed. And so they have- at least some of them. Others will follow." She glared at him. "You need to understand something, dad. All of your plans were ruined the moment I brought you here. So getting angry with mom over spilling those secrets is pointless. Now," she looked around the room, "You just saw his first week back. And you have many more weeks to go before you are through. And in watching those memories, you are going to learn things you don't understand when you see them, but will be revealed in time. So my advice is to sit back, observe, and process silently. Because if we have to stop every time someone here wants to kill someone else for something they see them do, you will all be here for YEARS. Okay?" At their nods, Mia walked over to Malcolm and grabbed the remote. "You know what I did to you the first time I saw you, after I learned that you were my father?" Mia asked.

"What?" Malcolm asked in reply.

"I shot you." Mia stated. "And if you even think about hurting anyone here, I'll shoot you again- only this time it will be in the head. Got it?"

Malcolm gave her a vicious grin. "That's my girl."

Mia's eyes widened fractionally, then narrowed. Without looking, she tossed the remote to Lance, then turned and walked out, leaving a stunned crowd behind.

TBC...

**A/N:** Did anybody else get the feeling that, in the Pilot, they set up Walter to be one of the villains?

**A/N 2:** Wow, so the ending of this chapter kind of ran away from me. I didn't have Malcolm being revealed as a big bad until he was introduced on the show, but my muse took one look at the scene with Robert killing himself and said 'No, I think Moira will start spilling the beans here.' This is the first time I've written a story where the story started writing itself despite my wishes.

**A/N 3:** a reply to Britany's review of last chapter- there will be no real pairings in this story; they will be saved for the sequel- which will be Olicity. Pairings will be Oliver/Felicity, Tommy/Laurel, Thea/Roy with a little Sara/Nyssa thrown in for fun.

Finally, to clarify- I will be posting this story on a bi-weekly schedule. I hope that will give me time to actually have this story completed while I continue to update. So expect a new chapter every other Monday for now.


	3. Chapter 2: Honor Thy Father

**Disclaimer:** Arrow is owned by The CW, Berlanti Productions, and Warner Bros. Television. The character of the Green Arrow and the Justice League is owned by DC Comics. I own nothing; I'm just playing in their universe.

**Chapter 2: Honor Thy Father**

* * *

><p><strong>Control Room<strong>

Mia skulked back into the control room and threw herself into her chair. Sighing in annoyance, she pulled up the next memory set so Lance could play it when they were ready. All the while Roy was looking at her. "What?" she asked shortly.

"So…. Are you planning on threatening to kill everyone in the room?" he asked.

"Roy?"

"Yes, dear?"

"Shut up."

"Yes, dear."

* * *

><p><strong>Sitting room<strong>

They all sat there in tense silence. Thea shifted away from her mother towards Tommy, who placed a protective arm around her. Finally it was Slade who broke the ice.

"This is the most fun I've had in years."

Diggle glared at him. "Really, man?"

Slade shrugged his shoulders. "I make it no secret that I have a personal issue with Mr. Queen. Anything that will ultimately bring him… discomfort, well, how can I not like it?"

"Your messed up in the head, man." Diggle said.

"Which apparently Miss Queen eventually takes off." Slade said with a smirk.

Before anyone else could say anything, Lance spoke up. "Look, it's like the lady said. We have a lot of these to get through. So let's all settle down and get through them. Alright?" he looked around, and one by one the people nodded. Lifting the remote, he pressed play.

_The next memory set started with Oliver's voice. 'The day I went missing was the day I died.' Scenes of him finding the island are shown, and then we cut back to the Foundry, where Oliver is gearing up. 'Five years in hell forged me into a weapon, which I use to honor a vow I made to my father, who sacrificed his life for mine. In his final moments, he told me the truth: that our family's wealth had been built on the suffering of others. That he failed our city, and that it was up to me to save it and right his wrongs. But to do that without endangering the people closest to me, I have to be someone else. I have to be… something else.'_

_The scene cuts to a rooftop, where Oliver engages in combat with six armed guards. In under a minute he has taken them all out, beating them down one at a time with sharp, effective punches and kicks, broken up with swipes from his bow. The brass knuckle hand guard on the bow does its job admirably, knocking out the last of the men guarding his target._

"_Whoa, whoa! Easy, wait, wait! No, please-" the man's pleas were cut off as The Hood grabbed the man by his collar and threw him off the helicopter platform, onto an air conditioning unit. The Hood jumped down to join him, smashing his boot into the grate covering the fane, then forced the man's face over the hole, mere inches away from the spinning fan blades._

"_Marcus Redman," he growled, voice modulator disguising his voice, "you have failed this city."_

"_Please, don't! Please! Don't!" Redman cried out in terror as The Hood leaned in closer._

"_Cell phone, inside pocket; call your partner." He growled. "Tell him to give those pensioners back their money. Do it now."_

"_Okay." The man said weakly, and The Hood jumped down and stalked away._

"He's taking the 'Robin Hood' deal a bit literally, isn't he?" Felicity asked, easing the tension some more. "Although, is it robbing from the rich to give to the poor if the money that's being given back belonged to the poor in the first place and was stolen by the rich…"

Diggle placed a hand on her knee. "Don't forget to breath, Felicity." He advised her warmly, finally breaking the tension as everyone chuckled.

_Cut to the next morning in Queen Manor as Oliver walks into the sitting room, where Moira, Walter and Thea were watching a news report._

'_Over the past 15 years, Mr. Redman has withdrawn more than $30 million from the plan's account. Mr. Redman claims refunding the Halcyon pension plan has always been his intent. But sources say Redman was coerced by the vigilante.' On the screen, the familiar sketch of the Hood came up. Oliver gestured at the screen._

"_This guy gets more air-time than the Kardashians, right?" he said jovially. _

"The Kardashians? Really?" Thea said. "That's his go-to reference?

_Thea shot him a look. "Five years on an island and you still know who they are." She said. Oliver smiled. _

"_I've been catching up." He said. "It's nice to see how much our culture has improved while I was away."_

"_But the city used to be different." Moira interjected. "People used to feel safe."_

"_Aw, what's the matter, mom?" Thea said sarcastically, "Afraid we're gonna be next?"_

"Actually," Lance started, "I wonder if he'd hit you just to throw suspicion off of himself."

Laurel gave her father a look. "Oliver wouldn't attack his own mother." She said.

"We don't know what this Oliver would do." Tommy said bluntly. Then he sighed. "But no, Detective, I don't think he'd do that."

"_Do you have any questions about today, Oliver?" Walter asked. "It's a simple proof-of-life declaration. Just read out a brief, prepared statement to the judge, and then your death-in-absentia judgment will be voided."_

_Oliver gave him a tight smile. "It's fine, Walter. I've been in a courtroom before."_

"_Four times by my estimate." Tommy said as he walked in the room. "You know, there was the DUI, the assault on that paparazzi douchebag, stealing that taxi, which was just awesome, by the way, and who could forget peeing on the cop?" Oliver had the sense to look slightly embarrassed at his youthful transgressions._

_Moira shot Tommy an annoyed look. "I wish everyone would." She said bluntly._

Present day Moira shot Tommy a look. Tommy, for his part, was still miffed about being kidnapped by goons she had hired. "It was still awesome." He told her snarkily.

"It was MY leg." Quentin growled. Laurel had the decency to disguise her laugh with a cough.

"_I'd hang, but we're headed to court." Oliver said with a tight smile. Tommy grinned back, oblivious to the tension._

"_I know, that's why I'm here." He said. "My best friend is getting legally resurrected; I wouldn't miss this for the world."_

"_Right." Oliver sighed. He looked at Thea. "What about you?" he asked._

"_Oh, I think the first four times of you in court was enough for me." She said tersely as she walked out of the room._

"_Fair enough." Oliver sighed._

"_Mrs. Queen?" Diggle announced as he came into the room. "Car's ready."_

_Moira nodded and, shooting Tommy a look and ignoring the arm he held out for her, took her husband's arm as well and walked out to the car. Tommy held out his arm jokingly to Oliver, who just smirked and walked out. Shrugging his shoulders, Tommy followed._

_The scene shifted to outside the courthouse, where Oliver was trying to make his way through a sea of reports. They pressed in close from all sides, screaming questions._

"_Are you going to testify as to what happened when the yacht sank?"_

"_Are you going to talk about the boat crash?" _

"_Mr. Queen, did you see Sara Lance die?"_

Laurel and Quentin winced at that.

_As the storm of questions continued, his mind brought up images of another storm, feeling the room tilt, seeing Sara pulled away from him by the ocean…_

_Inside the courtroom, Oliver was giving his statement. "There was a storm. The boat went down. I was the only survivor." His mind flashed back to the raft, screaming for Sara as his father stopped him from lunging back into the ocean to search for her. _

'_She's not there!' Robert said, even as Oliver cried out. 'Sara!' he screamed…_

_Back in court, Oliver continued. "My father didn't make it." He thought of the moment that Robert had put the gun to his temple and fired. Moira was crying softly, and even Tommy looked saddened as he finally started to grasp the suffering his friend had gone though. "I almost died, I… I thought that I had, because I spent so many days on that life raft before I saw land." He thought of his first sighting of Lian Yu, then of staggering to shore. "When I reached it, I knew I knew that I was gonna have to live for both of us. And in those five years, it was that one thought that kept me going." He finished shakily. Even giving that brief, prepared statement had been exceptionally hard on the man._

Thea saw the tears streaming down her mother's face, and despite the tension between them, reached out and grasped her hand in support. Moira didn't look at her, but squeezed back in silent gratitude.

"_Your honor," his lawyer started, "We move to vacate the death-in-absentia filed after Oliver's disappearance at sea aboard the Queen's Gambit five years ago. Unfortunately we will not be requesting that the declaration of death filed for the petitioner's father, Robert Queen, be rescinded. The Queen family is only entitled to one miracle, I'm afraid."_

_A short time later, the Queens, with Tommy, headed out of the courtroom and down the stairs to the main floor._

"_Now, onto the offices." Moira said with forced levity. "Everyone is waiting to meet you there."_

"_Uh, mom," Oliver said wearily, stopping on the stairs. Moira and Walter turned to face him. "That was a little bit heavier than I was expecting it to be. Can we do that tomorrow? Please?"_

_Moira looked at Walter, who nodded slightly. She smiled at her son. "Of course."_

"_Thank you." Oliver said, and Moira and Walter headed away. Oliver took a moment, then started walking down the stairs, Tommy at his side._

"_Last week, you couldn't wait to get to the company." His friend observed._

"_Tommy, I'd just spent five years away from civilization." Oliver explained. "I wasn't exactly thinking straight. I- Hi." Oliver said as he rounded the corner at the bottom of the stairs- and ran straight in to Laurel, who was walking with Joanna and another woman into the courthouse._

"_What are you doing here?" she demanded._

"And I'm back to being a bitch. " Laurel said, shaking her head. "How do I not see though his bullshit?"

"Because you see him as he wants to be scene." Malcom said, speaking up for the first time. "As the immature boy he once was, not as the man he has become."

_Oliver looked confused for a moment, the realized what she meant. "Oh, they were bringing me back from the dead. Legally speaking." He smiled. "What are you doing here?"_

"_My job." She replied bluntly._

"_Right."_

"_More like the D.A.'S." Joanna put in helpfully. There was an awkward pause; Oliver then noticed the sad looking woman on Laurel's right and held out his hand._

"_Hi, Oliver Queen." He said politely, shaking her hand._

"_Emily Nocenti." She replied._

"_Oliver just got back from five years on an uncharted island. Before that, he was cheating on me with my sister." Laurel said acidly. "He was with her when she died. And last week, he told me to stay away from him. It was really good advice." She pushed past him. "Excuse me."_

_The four stood around awkwardly for a moment, before Emily spoke up. "It was nice to meet you." She said as Joanna led her away._

_Tommy clapped him on the shoulder. "Come on, buddy, shake it off. Let's go." The two headed outside. There on the steps the press was gathered, this time around another man. Martin Somers looked confident, smiling at the cameras as the reports clambered for a sound bite, and the two men watched with interest._

"_Mr. Somers! Mr. Somers!" The all screamed. Martin pointed at one of the reporters. "What do you have to say about the accusations made by Laurel Lance?" she called out._

"_I don't know what I've done to earn this witch-hunt from Miss Lance and her bosses at the CNRI." He started, still smiling. "But I can tell you this. I am an honest businessman, and I will fight this slander to my last dime and breath. That's all I have to say, thank you." Martin walked away, with some of the press still trailing after him. _

"And if he's an honest businessman, than I'm Humanitarian of the Year." Malcolm said, ignoring the glares sent his way.

_Others, however, had spotted Oliver at the top of the stairs. Oliver walked down the stairs towards the car as the reporters shouted their questions._

"_Oh, there's Mr. Queen."_

"_Mr. Queen, do you want to follow up?"_

"_What happened in there, sir?"_

"_Tell us what happened inside, Mr. Queen!"_

"_Step back everybody, please." Diggle called out, ushering Oliver through the crowd._

"_Can you give us a couple comments about the island, Mr. Queen? Before you go, sir, please."_

"_Couple of comments about the island, sir."_

"_What happened in there?"_

_Diggle opened the rear door and Oliver, still silent, climbed inside. Diggle shut the door and tried to push the reporters back. "Everybody, step back." One photographer got too close, and Diggle grasped the man's jacket and shoved him back hard. "Hey man, I'll make you swallow that Nikon. Back!"_

_Suddenly there was the sound of squealing tires, and the Bentley pulled away at a fast clip as Diggle and Tommy looked on. _

Tommy looked over at Diggle, who had a cross look on his face. "That happens to you a lot, doesn't it?" he asked glibly.

_Tommy looked back to the bodyguard. "This happens to you a lot, doesn't it?" he asked glibly._

Most everyone laughed at that.

_Back in the courthouse, Laurel was giving her opening remarks._

"_How much is a life worth?" she asked. "A life of a man, a good man, a stevedore on the docks of the city in which we live. A father." She stopped and looked back at Emily. "A man with a daughter." She paused for effect before continuing. "The plaintiff will prove by a preponderance of evidence that Victor Nocenti learned that his boss, that man sitting right there," she pointed at the defendant, "Martin Somers, was taking bribes from the Chinese triads to smuggle drugs into our city. And when Victor Nocenti threatened to tell the police, Martin Somers had him killed. Mr. Somers is very well-connected, and has friends in the district attorney's office. Which is why, if Emily Nocenti is to get justice for her father's death, if Martin Somers is to get justice for his crimes, then someone is going to have to do it for them."_

_Back at the Foundry, Oliver was deep into his workout, preparing himself for the night's activities._

'_Martin Somers.' Oliver's voice intoned as he practiced with his escrima sticks. 'Laurel's targeted the worst of starling city, so it's no surprise his name is on my father's list. The city's police and the D.A. can't stop him- or won't. Laurel thinks she's the only one willing to bring him to justice. She's wrong.'_

"Pause it." Tommy told Lance shortly. Surprised by the boy's tone, he did so. Tommy then stood and looked to his father. "What's this list? Because we already know it isn't Mr. Queens'."

Malcolm looked up at his son impassively for several moments. Finally, he spoke. "When Robert and I were both younger, more idealistic men, we decided to use our wealth and influence to make Starling City a better place. Even back then, when you and Oliver were very young children, the city had started to turn for the worse. And we, in our ignorance, thought we could change it." He scoffed. "Then Rebecca was killed…"

"Yes, my mother was murdered. A fact you like to bring up every other conversation." Timmy said sharply. "Stick to the list."

Malcolm's eyes narrowed. "Your Mother's death has everything to do with the list." He shot back. "After her death, I left. I traveled the world, trying to make sense of my grief, trying to find a reason to live on."

"There **was** a reason waiting for his dad to come home." Tommy said quietly. Malcolm ignored him.

"When I came back, I realized that trying to change things the way we had been was never going to work. In order for things to change, it had to be more than just Robert and I. So I started looking, recruiting other businessmen and women who held a similar interest in saving our city. Some were altruistic. Others, like myself and Robert, had suffered personally due to the crime in The Glades. We began to pool our resources, but still it wasn't enough. It was then that I realized that the elements that were poisoning our city needed to do their fair share as well. And so I began to compile the list." He gestured at the frozen screen, where Oliver held open the small notebook. "Politicians, landlords, judges, mob bosses. Everybody and anybody in Starling City that had bribed or taken a bribe, that had murdered or covered up a murder; everyone who had profited from the suffering of the good, honest people of Starling City, from Frank Bertinelli to Adam Hunt, from Judge Grell to Tony Zucco. They all went on the list."

"You had a list of crooked politicians and judges" Lance asked in disbelief. "And you never brought that up to anybody?"

"Who, the District Attorney?" Malcolm replied. "Ms. Spencer seems to be fair, but her predecessor accepted bribes from half the crooked businessmen in the city, The police?" he scoffed. "For every honest cop like you, Detective, there are corrupt cops like Nudocerdo."

"He's chief of police!" Lance exclaimed.

"He's accepted campaign contributions from Frank Bertinelli." Malcolm countered.

"Okay, so you have a list of corrupt people." Tommy interrupted. "So what? How does that help?"

"The list is merely a reference guide." Malcolm replied. "I had copies of the list printed, and gave a copy to each member of our organization. Each person thought up their own ideas, and looked up who would best be able to facilitate them. When we met every month or so, we would throw out our ideas, pick the best ones, and then I'd run with them. I'd use contacts I'd formed to get in touch with, say, Frank Bertinelli, and he'd lean on the appropriate people to enact the plan. If he didn't, I had accumulated information on him, and every person on that list, that I would go public with if they didn't comply. If they were lucky, the D.A. would be forced to prosecute." He smiled coldly. "OF course, there were some that if certain facts were brought to light, they would be praying for prosecution. Because if the D.A. didn't get them, the Triad or the Mob would."

Tommy stared at his father as if he was a stranger. "You've been blackmailing people, all in some weird plan to save the city?"

"That was the plan, yes." Malcolm replied simply.

"What do you mean, 'was' the plan?" Laurel demanded.

Malcolm smiled. It wasn't a pleasant site. "Clever girl, Miss Lance. I said was, because even after several years of doing this, it still didn't make a difference. And so a new plan was made."

"And what is that plan?" Tommy asked, dreading the answer.

"I have the distinct impression," Malcolm said after a moment, "that you will learn all about it soon." He gestured to Lance. "Why don't we continue, Detective?"

Lance looked up at Tommy, who sighed, then nodded. Tommy sat down as Lance started the memory again.

_That night on the docks, Somers was railing at his lawyer in his office._

"_You, listen up." He growled. The calm, confident man who had spoken to the press earlier that day was gone. This was the true Martin Somers- jittery, scared. "The longer this goes on, the more likely the media is gonna crucify me. You shut this trial down, do you understand me?" Suddenly the lights flickered off, and the sounds of three arrows impacting their targets could be heard. When the lights came back up, his lawyer and his two bodyguards were down on the ground. "What the hell?" was all he said when suddenly he was grabbed from behind and his world went dark._

_When he came to, the world seemed to be upside down. As the world came into focus and he saw The Hood standing across from him, though, he realized that it was himself who was upside down, hanging from a crane and swinging like a pendulum. _

"_Martin Somers! You've failed this city." The Hood intoned, drawing an arrow from his quiver and firing it as the man swung. It just passed by the right side of his head._

"_No! No, no, no, no, no!" Somers screamed out. The Hood ignored him._

"_You're gonna testify in that trial. You're gonna confess to having Victor Nocenti killed. There won't __**be**__ a second warning." He warned, drawing another arrow and firing it. The one left a deep cut on his left cheek. Somers cried out in pain, pressing his hand to the cut. When he looked back at where The Hood had been, though, the vigilante was gone._

"He can't honestly believe that will work." Malcolm scoffed.

"The kid's a bit of an idealist." Slade said. "Plus, I don't think he has a clear understanding of how much more scary the Triad can be compared to him."

_Later that night, back at the Queen manor, another interrogation was going on._

"_I hired you to protect my son." Moira was saying as she paced in front of John Diggle. "Now, I'm not a professional bodyguard, but it seems to me that the first requirement would be managing to stay next to the man you're hired to protect." She pointed out._

"_With all due respect, ma'am," Diggle tried, "I never had a client who didn't want my protection."_

"_I hired you." Moira pointed out, coming to stop in front of the bodyguard. "That makes me the client." She looked at the man sternly for a moment before resuming her pacing. "Now, where do you think my son is going on these chaperone-less excursions?"_

"_Ma'am, I truly do not know." Dig answered honestly._

"I just don't get it." Thea said suddenly, glaring at her mother. "Why are you so interested in where Oliver is going? I mean, it's not like you're worried about him getting kidnapped again, since- hello, that was you!"

"Someday," Moira said, gazing levelly at her daughter, "You'll have children. And you will understand doing anything and everything in your power to keep them safe. Yes," she said, cutting off Thea, "I had Oliver kidnapped. Or will have him kidnapped," she muttered to herself, "but that's only because, if I didn't do it, than someone else would have. And then it would have been very unlikely he would have come home alive." She finished, glaring at Malcolm, who smirked.

"Oh, I don't know, Moira." He said. "Oliver seems to have had things well in hand."

* * *

><p>In the control room, Rose looked over at Mia. "And here I thought MY dad was an asshole." She remarked. Mia winced.<p>

"Yeah…"

* * *

><p>Back in the sitting room, Lance looked at Malcolm with disgust. "If I had my gun, I'd shoot you right now, Merlyn." He said, then lifted the remote and un-paused the memory.<p>

"_And he truly doesn't." a jovial voice called out as Oliver walked into the room. His mother cast him a baleful look._

"_Then perhaps you'd like to share with me, you know, where it is you run off to." His mother said, exasperated._

"_I've been alone for five years." Oliver pointed out._

"_I know that, Oliver."_

"_Mom," he interrupted, shoot her a look. "Alone." He emphasized. _

_Moira put it together after a beat. "I see." She said._

"_I promise to introduce her if it ever gets to the exchanging first names stage…" he started._

Laurel shook her head. "Leave it to Oliver to use his reputation for sleeping around as a cover story."

Tommy crossed his arms. "And Mia called me the slut." He groused.

"The difference being that while Oliver is lying about sleeping around, you actually ARE sleeping around." Laurel shot back.

"Oh, snap." Thea said, flashing a thumbs up to the older girl.

"_No, I'd rather you promise to take Mr. Diggle with you on your next rendezvous." Moira interrupted, walking up to her son. "It's not safe; you've already been abducted once. There is a maniac out there, hunting the wealthy."_

"_That maniac saved my life." Oliver pointed out._

"And now he talks in the third person, and suddenly we're in 'Sybil'." Felicity quipped. Lance chortled.

"_This isn't a game." Moira said. She paused and looked into his eyes. "I lost you once. And I am not going through that again." She stated plaintively. Oliver looked back with genuine remorse._

"_Okay__**."**__ He said finally. __**"**__Dig's my guy."_

"_Thank you." Moira said, and then walked out of the room. Oliver looked up at his body man._

"_Sorry to give you so much grief." He said. He almost meant it._

_Dig buttoned up his suite jacket and walked around the couch. "I served three tours in Afghanistan, Mr. Queen. You don't even come close to my definition of grief." He paused in front of Oliver. "But I tell you what- you ditch me one more time, no one will have to fire me." With that he left the room, just as Thea walked past. The girl gave the bodyguard a cursory look before continuing on her way._

"_Where you going?" Oliver called out. Thea paused, surprised. She hadn't seen him there. _

"_Uh somewhere loud and smoky." She replied, crossing her arms. "And don't bother trying to pickpocket my stash this time, because I'm gonna go get drunk instead."_

Thea's head dropped in embarrassment as Tommy chuckled. "Well, at least you're honest." He told her.

_Oliver walked towards his sister, concern on his face. "Thea, do you think this is what dad would want for you?" he asked, trying to get through._

"_Dead people don't want anything. It's one of the benefits of being dead." No dice._

"_I was dead.' He pointed out. "And I wanted a lot."_

"_Except for your family." Thea shot back coldly. "You've been home a week and all you do is avoid mom, ignore Walter, and judge me." She cast one last look at him before turning around. "Don't wait up." She said as she walked out of the room._

"And apparently my trip to becoming a psychotic bitch started earlier that I expected." Thea muttered.

_The next day at the docks, Detective Lance was speaking with Martin Somers about what had happened the night before- or, as Somers put it, didn't happen._

"_Well, I owe you an apology, Mr. Somers." Lance was saying, pacing lightly in front of Somers desk. He noted a hole in the top of the desk and fingered it idly as Somers sat, watching him. "We come all the way down to your docks, and it turns out, you don't need the police after all."_

"_Which is exactly what I've been saying." Somers said. The calm facade was back in place._

"_Yeah." Lance agreed. "So I guess that 9-1-1 call we got last night from your stevedore, saying that you were getting attacked by a guy in a green hood and a bow and arrow… I guess well, was that a practical joke?" he threw out._

_Somers smiled tightly. "These guys like to fool around."_

"_Yeah." Lance said again, walking away from the desk and over towards one of the patrol officers who held an evidence bag. "Well, you know, I'd be very much inclined to believe an honest, upstanding businessman like yourself, except, well, one of my men found this at your docks." He pulled out a green arrow and turned around, showing it to Somers. Somers held his gaze impassively. "You see, there's this vigilante running around." Lance continued, coming back to the desk. He perched on the edge, waving the arrow around slightly. "He thinks he's some kind of Robin Hood. He's robbing the rich, he's trying to teach them a lesson I guess. I don't know," he said, then looked back at the other officers. "I don't know." He repeated, and then looked back at Somers. "But the point is, the man's a killer. And nothing, and no one, is going to stop me from bringing him down." He gently put the arrow in the hole in the desk; it fit perfectly, to no one's surprise. Lance looked up at Somers with a tight smile. "But like you said, clearly, nothing happened here last night." He finished sarcastically. _

_Somers looked back at the cop. "Isn't this a conflict of interest, Detective?" he asked. "After all, your daughter is suing me."_

"_I'm pretty good at keeping my emotions in check." Lance said evenly._

"_I'm not." Somers said, rage simmering just beneath the surface. He stood and got into Lance's face. "You and your daughter don't want to find out what I'm capable of when I get emotional." He threatened. Lance gave him a disgusted look. Finally, though, he turned and left._

"He goes after my me or my daughter, and I'll put a bullet in him." Lance snarled.

"Dad!" Laurel exclaimed quietly.

"Just wait a day," Diggle suggested, "And Oliver would probably beat you to that."

"Only he'd use an arrow." Felicity added.

_The scene changed as we flew over Starling City, right to the Queen Consolidated towers. There were three towers in total- the main tower, which held mostly executive offices, stood proudly in the front. Directly behind were two, slightly shorter towers, connected by a sky bridge, that held research labs, stock trading areas, and other departments that made up the Queen Consolidated business._

"_As you can see, Oliver, we've modernized quite a bit." Walter was saying as the elevator opened on the executive level of the main tower. While the elevator banks were set into a rich, green marble, the rest of the floor was all glass and steel. Oliver whistled as Walter led him, Moira and Diggle towards his office._

_Oliver smiled at a cute blonde as he walked past. "Hi." He said. His mother squeezed his arm gently and smiled at her son_

"_Are you enjoying yourself?" she asked. Oliver smiled in return._

"_Yes, I am."_

"_I remember when your father used to bring you here when you were a boy." Walter said jovially as they all walked into his office. Diggle took up position by the door. "You always were so excited."_

"_Dad let me drink soda in the office." Oliver revealed._

"_Ah!" Moira exclaimed happily. "So that's why you enjoyed coming."_

"_Queen Consolidated's success of late is a result of its targeted diversification." Walter began as Oliver walked around the office. "We have been making impressive inroads in cutting-edge fields like bio-tech and clean energy."_

"_That's neat." Oliver interrupted, the called out to Walter's secretary, "Excuse me? Can I get a sparkling water, or something cold, please?"_

"_Sweetheart," Moira said, gesturing at her son. "Oliver, Walter and I have something to discuss with you. Come, please sit." She motioned towards a chair. Oliver looked at her warily._

"This won't end well." Thea predicted.

"_Mom, it makes me nervous when you ask me to sit down."_

_The three stood awkwardly for a moment, before Walter pressed on. _

"_The company's about to break ground on a new site for the applied sciences division, and we would like to honor your father by dedicating the building in his name." he said. Oliver nodded._

"_That's nice." He agreed._

"_And we'd like to make an announcement at the dedication," Moira added, "that you will be taking a leadership position in the company."_

"_No." Oliver said at once._

"_**Your**__ company." She emphasized. _

"_No, I don't want to lead anything." He shot back firmly, then looked at Walter. "Besides, Walter is doing a very good job here." It was the first…nice….thing Oliver had said to or about Walter since he got back, and the elder businessman was momentarily stunned._

"_You said that you wanted to be a different person." Moira pressed on. "And you are Robert Queen's son."_

"_I don't need to be reminded of that." He replied coldly._

"_Well, obviously you do."_

_Walter walked up next to Moira and put a reassuring hand on her back. "Everyone here understands that this transition is really difficult for you." He tried._

"_Thank you, Walter." Oliver aid, the civility he had tried to build crumbling. "Which part, though? Everyone fantasizing that I got my MBA while I was on the island? Or the fact that my father's CFO now sleeps down the hall from me?" he finished angrily._

Everyone winced, even Slade.

"Ouch." Tommy remarked.

"He's really not taking my marriage to Walter well." Moira said sadly.

_His mother looked crestfallen, and turned away from him. Oliver, for his part, looked ashamed at his outburst. Moira walked towards the door, then stopped and turned._

"_You know, five years ago, your irresponsibility was somewhat charming." She said. "It is a lot less so now." She then turned around and walked out of the room. Walter followed after a moment. Dig looked on, no judgment whatsoever on his face. As a soldier, he knew what it was like to come home to a world you didn't recognize._

_The two made their way outside and fought through a sea of reporters to the Bentley. Dig got Oliver in, then walked around and got in on the other side._

"_The driver will be here in a minute." He said as they settled into their seats, the reports still shouting questions outside the car._

"_Okay." Oliver replied tersely. They were silent for a few moments before Dig spoke._

"_You know, I spent the first 27 years of my life in Starling City, and the next five in Afghanistan." He started. "You want to know what I learned?"_

"To duck?" Tommy quipped, earning a glare from Diggle.

"_There's no place like home?" Oliver replied dryly. Dig smiled and shook his head._

"_No, just the opposite. Home is a battlefield." He explained. "Back home, they're all trying to get you. Get you to open up, be somebody you're not sure you are anymore." He paused and looked at the young man. "Or I could be wrong. Maybe after five years alone, you're not as messed up in the head as you have every right to be." He observed._

"You're very observant, Mr. Diggle." Moira said. Dig nodded in acceptance.

_The scene shifted, and we were back on the Island. Oliver had made a makeshift shelter on the beach and was sleeping, but the loud cries of sea gulls woke him. He looked up to see the birds gathered around the raft, and his father's body. "Hey!" he called out, staggering to his feet and running towards the raft. "Hey, get away! Hey!" he shooed the birds away and collapsed onto the side of the raft. His father's body laid there, a life jacket covering the face- and the bullet wound. _

Thea closed her eyes and turned away, leaning into Tommy's chest.

_The smell of decomposition got to Oliver and he staggered back, vomiting onto the rocky beach. Once done, he slowly moved back towards the raft and knelt beside it once more. "Dad." He said softly. Then, determined, he pulled the body up over his shoulder and stood, then started walking inland to bury his father. _

_Back in the present, Laurel and Joanna were briefing Emily Nocenti on what to expect with the coming trial._

"_Well, we anticipate that Somers' attorney will try and paint you as blinded by grief or looking to make a buck." Joanna was saying. Emily looked back at the two lawyers in angry disbelief._

"_This isn't about the money." She argued. "I just want justice for my father."_

"_Emily," Laurel started gently, "there are a lot of people who don't want this trial to proceed. Dangerous people." She explained. Emily just shook her head._

"_My mother died when I was a baby, and my father has been the only family I've ever known and they slit his throat. They are going to have to kill me if they want me to give this up." She said determinedly. Laurel gave her a small smile._

"_Well let's hope it doesn't come to that." She said._

"_And it won't." the three turned to see Quentin Lance walk in with three patrol officers behind him._

Laurel sighed in annoyance. "Of course you post guards." She groused.

"If he threatened you? Your damn right I'll post guards." Quentin shot back.

"_What's going on?" Laurel asked._

"_What's going on is that the three of you are getting around-the-clock police protection. Okay? Get used to their faces, because they're going with you everywhere you go, no arguments." The last part was directed at his daughter, who looked back at him unimpressed. _

"_I'm a lawyer. I live to argue." She stated._

Tommy snorted. "Ain't that the truth."

Lance glared at him. "Just because we were all distracted before, don't think I didn't hear about you and my daughter hooking up." He growled. "You and I are gonna have words later."

Tommy looked intimidated, and even Malcolm had to hide his grin. Laurel sighed again. "Yes, dad. Tommy and I have had sex. Get over it."

"Laurel!" he exclaimed, distressed.

"Also, me and Oliver had sex." She glared at her father. "I'm an adult. Who I sleep with is nobody's business but mine. Get it?"

"I'm kinda wishing you'd keep it your business," Thea grumbled, "because I have no desire to hear about my brother's sex life. Either of them."

"_I'm your father. I live to keep you safe." He replied bluntly._

_Joanna, sensing the building argument between father and daughter, gently took Emily's arm. "Um, Emily, let's go grab a cup of coffee, okay?" she asked rhetorically._

"_Yes, why not do that? Thank you." Quentin said, and then gestured to the three cops. "Please, go with them." he said to the first two, who followed the two ladies out of the office. He held back the third. _

"_Stay there." He ordered._

"_Protective custody?" Laurel began, crossing her arms. "I seem to recall you trying that once I discovered boys. It didn't work then, either."_

Laurel grinned evilly at her father, who glowered back in return.

"_This isn't a joke, Laurel." Quentin said, ignoring his daughters' argument. "Martin Somers got attacked last night."_

_Laurel's dropped as she looked at her father, stunned. "What? By who?"_

"_It doesn't matter." He said, somewhat relieved to see the seriousness of the situation was finally getting through to her. "Point is, you have whipped up a storm with these guys, and until the dust settles you'll be protected, okay? End of discussion." Quentin turned to leave._

"_That might have worked when I was eight," Laurel argued, some of her defiance finding its' way back, Quentin turned back to his daughter. "But it's not gonna work anymore."_

"_End of discussion, Laurel!" he insisted sternly. "You're insistent on doing your job, that's great. But this is me doing mine, okay? And not just as a father, but as a cop. These people, they are more dangerous than you are willing to admit. And you've made them angry." He finished, turning and walking out._

_Later that evening on the docks, a stunning Asian woman in a red dress and stark white hair walked into Somer's office._

Malcolm inhaled sharply. Lance looked to him. "What?"

"That woman is Chien Na Wei." He told the cop. "She is THE top assassin for the Chinese Triad."

"_Thank you for coming." He said. The woman walked up to the desk and gave a cold smile._

"_Anything for a friend." China White said amicably. _

"_We're not friends." Somers countered. "You smuggle drugs, I let you use my port."_

"_For which you're paid a lot of money." She responded._

"_I don't get paid enough to have arrows shot at me." He shot back. "You need to take this guy seriously. He is a bigger threat to your operation than Nocenti ever was."_

"_Except now it's Nocenti's daughter who's the problem." China White stated. "Unlike your friend with the hood, we know where to find her."_

"_Don't be an idiot." Somers snarled at the woman. "You take out Emily Nocenti, and Laurel Lance will never let this go. She won't stop until she burns you, me, and then the entire Triad to the ground."_

_China White smiled coldly. "Then we kill Miss Lance."_

Lance's hands were clenched, his knuckles white. "You were having a problem with police protection?" He ground out to Laurel, who stared at the screen in shock.

"It's one thing to hear a threat in passing, it's another to hear it directly." She muttered.

"A word of advice, Miss Lance," Malcolm said. "If you want to go after heavy hitters like Martin Somers, you need to expect blowback like this. He makes a living doing business with the Triad; he'll have no qualms about having you killed."

"How do you deal with these people then?" she asked with a glare.

"I have an enforcer who deals with those who don't toe the line." Malcolm smirked. "Everyone else usually falls in line after that."

"What kind of enforcer?" Quentin demanded.

Malcolm stared at the man coolly. "Let's just say, that Oliver isn't the only person in Starling City putting arrows into people." Malcolm returned his attention to the screen, ignoring the looks he was getting. He had no doubt now that at some point the identity of his enforcer would become known. 'Let them wonder.' He thought to himself.

_The next morning, Oliver was getting dressed in his room as he watched the news._

'_Attorney for shipping magnate, Martin Somers, has confirmed his client has no intention of testifying, maintaining his innocence in the wrongful death of Victor Nocenti. Nocenti's body was found four weeks ago. We'll keep you updated as more information becomes available.' He glowered at the screen; obviously Somers hadn't quite got his message. He started to put his shirt on when a voice from his open door startled him._

_Thea had come to talk to her brother, not bothering to knock as the door had been open. Before she could speak, she saw the scars the marred his back. "Wait, how did you get those?" she asked, coming into the room. _

_Oliver grimaced in angered annoyance as he tried to cover up. "Don't you knock?" he growled._

"_No." Thea declared, stalking into the room and forcing her brother to turn around. "Wait, Mom said that there were scars, but…" she gently pried the edges of his shirt from his hands and pulled it open to reveal even more scars on his chest. She stared in horror, a dawning realization of what he must have gone through finally coming upon her. "I'm-" she started, took a breath, and then started over. "Oliver, what happened to you out there?"_

_Oliver took a few moments to compose himself, pulling his shirt free from his sister and buttoning it. "I don't want to talk about it." He said._

_Thea scoffed. "Of course you don't." she said angrily. "You never want to talk to me about anything. Except for my social life." She started to leave._

"Why am I so pushy?" Thea wondered softly. "Why do I keep pushing him…."

"Seeing everything that's happening is giving you a broader perspective." Felicity said. "As opposed to only seeing him a few times a day. Plus, I'm betting you two were close once?" Thea nodded. "You expected him to be the same, to have the same closeness with you. But he's been through a major trauma, and I'm guessing he learned to shut everyone out to protect himself. It will take time for him to open up again."

"How do you know?" Thea asked, curious.

Felicity smiled sadly. "I lost someone close once, too. And it took me a long time to become as open and outgoing as I am."

"_Wait!" he called out, stopping her in her tracks. "Where are you going?" he asked._

_Thea crossed her arms in defiance. "Why should I tell you?" she demanded._

_Oliver took a breath, trying to find the words. "I'm sorry, Thea." He finally said. "I need to get better at talking about what happened to me there. But I'm not ready yet." He looked Thea in the eye, imploring her silently to understand. "Okay?"_

_Thea stared at her brother for a long moment. "Do you have a second?" she asked finally._

"_Yeah."_

"_Good. I wanna show you something out back." She turned and walked out of the room; Oliver grabbed his jacket and followed._

_Soon they were walking out onto the back yard of the manor. Thea led him to a clearing where two headstones had been erected. One read:_

_**Robert Queen**_

_**1958-2007**_

_**A leader, a husband**_

_The second read:_

_**Oliver Queen**_

_**1985-2007**_

_**A loving son and brother, whose light was diminished far too soon**_

"_Sometimes, when I felt… whatever, I'd come here." She said, coming to a stop in front of the headstones. She knelt down in front of Roberts's stone and brushed away some stray leaves. "About a month after the funerals, mom stopped going out. Pretty soon, she stopped talking altogether. The house got so quiet, so I'd come here." She stood and walked over to Oliver's stone. She pointed at it. "To talk to you." She was trying her best not to cry, but it was hard. "I mean, stupid stuff. Like what I was doing that day, what boy I had a crush on. And then sometimes, I'd ask you, beg you, to find your way home to me." She looked back to her brother. "Now, here you are. And the truth is, I felt closer to you when you were dead. Look, I know it was hell where you were. But it was hell here too. You gotta let me in, Ollie." She implored. "You gotta let someone in." she turned and walked away, leaving Oliver standing there at the markers. He stared down at his own, taking in everything she had said._

"I'm sorry I wasn't there for you." Tommy said again.

"Stop apologizing." Thea replied, wiping her eyes.

_The scene shifted to later that night in Laurel's apartment. She was looking over her notes for the Nocenti case on her laptop as she finished off a TV dinner when a knock at her door startled her. She paused, thinking she had miss heard, and then heard the knocking again. Cautiously, her father's warning still fresh in her mind, she approached the door and looked out the peephole. She opened the door a moment later to see Oliver standing there, brown paper bag in hand._

"_Hi." He said awkwardly. "Are you okay? There are two cop cars outside."_

"_How am I supposed to stay away from you if you won't stay away from me?" she asked sarcastically. "What are you doing here, Ollie?" she demanded._

"_My sister took," he paused, rethinking his words. "She pointed out to me that I have been distant since I got back and that It would probably be a good idea if I let somebody in."_

"_So, you thought you'd start with the first person you pushed away." Laurel pointed out._

"_I did that to protect you." Oliver reasoned, and then pushed on. "And then I saw you yesterday, and I realized that I hurt you." Laurel glowered at him, but finally stood aside and allowed him to enter. "Thank you." He said sincerely. He looked around the apartment. "Wow. This place hasn't changed in five years."_

"_I haven't really had time to redecorate." Laurel snarked as she walked past him._

"_I'm a jerk." He announced, bringing her up short. "Before the island, I was a jerk, and now I'm just a… I'm a damaged jerk." He finished lamely. Laurel turned around and looked at him, then decided to take pity on her ex-boyfriend._

"_What's in the bag?" she asked._

_Oliver smiled, reaching into the bag. "I thought about many things on the island, but there was one thing that I thought about every day." His smile grew, and he laughed slightly at the memory. "I actually dreamed about it, and I promised myself that if I ever got a chance to do it again, I'd do it with you." He pulled out a tub of mint chocolate chip ice cream._

"_Eat ice cream." He stated, and Laurel smiled._

Tommy shook his head. "What a dweeb." He remarked.

Laurel looked at him, amusement in her eyes. "Jealous?" she asked.

"Dear god in heaven, help me through this." Lance muttered.

_A short time later, Laurel was eating her ice cream out of a bowl, while Oliver just dug into the carton with his spoon. "This is as good as I remember." He said, smiling. After a moment, he spoke again. "My mother wants me to join the company." At her look, "Yeah. Take my rightful place."_

"_I can't exactly picture you as master of the universe." Laurel remarked, not meanly, but honestly._

_Oliver smiled tightly. "You know, after five years, I have plans." He announced. "I have things that I have to do. I can't do that if I'm, I don't know… attending board meetings and stockholder briefings."_

"Yeah, when would he find time to shoot people with arrows?" Lance muttered.

"I don't know," Moira started. "I've been in some of those board meetings, and there are more than a few I wouldn't mind shooting with an arrow."

"_Oliver?" Laurel said. At his look, "You're an adult. You can say no."_

"_Oh, I tried." He pointed out. "Didn't take."_

"_Well, then don't tell her. Show her." She reasoned. "Be the person that you want her to see you as." _

"Oh, that won't end well." Tommy said.

"_Trust me. I have plenty of experience with disapproving parents."_

Laurel glanced at her father with a raised eyebrow.

"_I have been on the receiving end of your father's disapproval." He agreed._

"_He blames himself more than he blames you." She said suddenly, leaning back into the couch. "He thinks that, you know, maybe if he and Sara were closer, she would have told him about the boat trip. And he could have stopped her from going with you."_

Lance glared at Laurel, but his attention was caught by the screen almost immediately.

_Oliver looked at her sadly. "I am sorry." He said again._

"_You apologized already." Laurel replied._

"_And it'll never be enough."_

_They sat in silence, but then Oliver heard a noise. "Did you hear that?"_

"_What?" Laurel asked, confused. Oliver grabbed the knife he had used to open the ice cream carton; it was dull, but it would work in a pinch. "There's someone on the fire escape." Slowly he climbed to his feet, listening. He heard more noises, so he grabbed Laurel's hand, pulling her up._

"_Hey, come on."_

"_What?" she asked in confusion, even as he pulled her towards the door. They were halfway there when it crashed open, a large Asian man with an Uzi stumbling in after. Oliver turned and pulled Laurel deeper into the apartment, ducking a spray of bullets as he made their way towards her bedroom. He pulled her back when another figure came crashing in through her window from the fire escape. They kept low as they searched for a way out, even as Oliver looked for an opening to attack without revealing too much. He came up short as China White stalked into the room, twin knives held at the ready._

Quentin watched the unfolding scene in horror, grabbing on to his frightened daughters hand.

_Suddenly more gunfire erupted, this time from Diggle as he stormed into the room. The first gunman went down quickly, as did the second. But China White proved too fast; she disarmed Dig in seconds. He in turn relieved her of one of her knives, and parried several thrusts with his hands, his special forces training evident. But China White was again too fast; she took him down and prepared to stab him. As she brought her knife up for a killing blow, Oliver flipped the dinner knife in his hand and threw it hard, knocking the blade out of the Asian woman's hand. She looked up in surprise, and then decided discretion was the better part of valor and scrambled out the ruined door._

"ALL RIGHT OLLIE!" Tommy whooped. The he looked to Diggle. "You were good, too." He assured the man.

"Thanks." Dig said dryly.

_Laurel ran into Oliver's arms, crying in terror even as Dig clambered to his feet, grabbing his gun on the way up. He looked to his client._

"_Are you hurt? Are you hurt, Mr. Queen?!" he yelled._

"_No! No." Oliver replied, stunned himself by what had transpired._

"_This is why it's a good idea to have a bodyguard!" Dig remarked as he moved to check the rest of the apartment, even as Oliver checked over Laurel._

Lance looked to Diggle. "I know you haven't done it yet, but thank you for saving my daughter." He told the man.

_A short time later, cops were removing the dead men from Laurel's apartment as Quentin Lance ran in. He looked around for a moment, out of breath, before he spotted his daughter. He ran to her and pulled her into a hug._

"_Daddy!" she said, still frightened._

"_Oh, thank God." Quentin said, relieved. "Thank God. Are you all right?"_

"_I'm okay." She assured him, then asked the question she really didn't want the answer to. "Those cops that you put on me…" she trailed off._

"_They…" he started, hesitantly, and was saved when Diggle answered for him._

"_I went outside to ask for a light, and they were both dead in the squad car."_

_Quentin looked at the bodyguard in gratitude. "Mr. Diggle, thank you." He said. "Feel free to run as many red lights in the city as you want."_

"_I was just doing my job, sir." Dig assured him. Quentin shook his head._

"_No, your job is protecting him." He looked at Oliver. He stalked up close to the man. "It seems like whenever you're with one of my daughters, people die." He snarled. "You stay away from Laurel, or I swear the next time you disappear, it will be permanent."_

"Dad!" Laurel exclaimed, aghast.

"_Dad!" Laurel exclaimed._

"_No, Laurel..." the Detective started, but was cut off by Oliver._

"_It's okay." Oliver said. "I understand."_

"_Yeah." Quentin said, moving back to his daughter._

_Later that evening back at the Manor, Dig was sitting on the sofa nursing his injured hand. Oliver walked in, tossing the man an ice pack._

"_Here!" he said "I'd say thank you, but I don't think that would cover it."_

"_Well, like I told your cop friend, I was just doing my job." Dig replied, standing. "Besides, I think it should be you that I'm thanking."_

_Oliver looked at him in confusion. "What for?" he asked._

"_The knife." Dig said simply. Oliver nodded in understanding._

"_The knife." He said. "I got lucky."_

"_That was a kitchen knife." Dig argued. "It wasn't even weighted properly, yet you threw it with accuracy across a 10-foot room."_

"_Exactly." Oliver said. "I got lucky."_

_Diggle stepped up to the man, though kept far enough away to be respectful. "I'm not the kind of man you want to take for a fool, Mr. Queen, you understand me?" he stated. _

"_Yes." Oliver agreed._

"_And I think I'm just beginning to understand the kind of man you are." Dig said observantly._

"_Shouldn't take you very long. I'm shallow." Oliver quipped. "And very tired, so good night." With that, Oliver headed to his room._

"_Good night, sir." Diggle called out, still nursing the hand._

Malcolm eyed Diggle speculatively. "I wonder…" he started, but trailed off.

"Wonder what?" Dig prodded.

"I wonder if Oliver is starting to realize he can't do this alone." Malcolm said.

_The scene shifted to the Foundry, where Oliver was busy getting his gear on._

'_I wanted to give Martin Somers the chance to confess and face a court's justice, but he chose to go after someone I care about instead.' His voice intoned as he got out his bow. 'He's still going to face justice. It'll just be a different kind.'_

"Can't believe I'm rooting for Queen." Lance muttered.

_The scene shifted again to the docks, where Martin Somers was hurriedly stuffing bundles of cash into a case._

"_Triad bitch screwed up the hit on Lance." He growled to his bodyguard. "Now, the Triad is gonna erase every ounce of evidence of their smuggling operation, including me. Except that's not gonna happen." He closed up the case and looked back to his man. "Tell Wallace to get the boat ready." He ordered. "I'm leaving tonight."_

"_Wallace? Wallace, you copy?" the man asked into his radio. There was no response. "Wallace?" _

_Wallace isn't here. A familiar voice sounded on the radio, and Somer's face filed with dread as he recognized The Arrow. But I am._

Tommy frowned. "He needs to do something about his voice." He said suddenly.

"What do you mean?" Moira asked.

"Well, he needs to disguise it. Talk all raspy, or like he has laryngitis or something." Tommy explained. "Otherwise, if some goon he intimidates happens to see a news report where Oliver says something, he'll recognize the voice and know who the hood guy is." His hands mimed an explosion. "Cover blown."

Malcolm smiled at his son proudly. Every so often he'd see the man he wished his son would be. He started thinking that, when they got back, he'd move up his plans to make Tommy grow up, if only to see that man realized more quickly.

"_We need to move, now." He ordered. "Move!"_

"_Sir, we've got six men out there." The man argued, but Somers pulled him along._

"_It's not enough. Move it!" he ordered as they ran out of the building._

_Back at Laurel's apartment, Quentin was busy laying down the law, so to speak, to his daughter._

"_You're gonna go back into that courtroom tomorrow and you're gonna recuse yourself from this case, all right?" he demanded. "Or drop it. Either way, you're done."_

"The funny thing is, you actually think I'll listen to you." Laurel said, glancing at her father, who scowled in return.

"_If you think I'm gonna abandon Emily Nocenti, then you don't know me all that well." Laurel shot back._

"_You don't know me well, young lady." Quentin countered. "I will lock you in a cell if that's what it takes."_

_Laurel rose from the couch and shrugged her shoulders. "Well, I guess that's what it's gonna take then." She said walking away._

"_Damn it, Laurel!" Quentin shouted, his voice cracking from fear. "I thought after what happened with Sara, you'd stop being just so reckless!"_

"_It's not about being reckless!" she shouted back heatedly. "It's just the opposite. I'm trying to make this city safer, just like you."_

"_Sweetie." He tried, coming up to her. "You're my only daughter, Laurel. You're all I have left to live for."_

"_But what you want from me isn't living." She countered again, near tears. "Having cops around, not being able to do my job…"_

"_Your job is not going after people like the Triad! Or Somers…"_

"_My job is to use the law to fight for what is right. Just like you taught me."_

"_Well, that's dirty." Quentin said brokenly. "Using me against me. You can't do that." He argued._

"_Well maybe I picked that up along the way, too." Laurel joked softly. Lance let out a soft laugh. Suddenly his phone went off._

"_Lance." He said answering it. He listened for a moment. "I'll be right there." He said, hanging up. He looked at his daughter. "I gotta go." He said. "Something's going on at the docks."_

_At the docks, it was pandemonium as The Hood leapt from walk way to walkway, staying one step ahead of the guards bullets and taking them out, one at a time. He spied Somers running into a building as he killed the last guard._

"_Somers!" he shouted, jumping down to the ground and following him._

_In the building, Somers was running as fast as he could, trying to get away. Unfortunately for him, he wasn't fast enough. An arrow pinned him to a crate at the far end of the room. "Oh, God, no, no, no…" he cried out as The Hood stalked up, nocking another arrow._

"_He can't help you." The Hood growled. "I want the truth about Victor Nocenti." He let the arrow fly, pinning is right shoulder to the crate._

"_I can't! The Triad will kill me."_

"_The Triad's not your concern right now!" The Hood snarled. At Somers reluctance, he let another arrow fly, right below the man's crotch._

"_All right, all right, all right!" Somers cried out. "It wasn't me that killed him. It was the Triad." He sobbed._

"_Acting on whose instructions? Whose?" he shouted, shooting another arrow right above the man's head._

"_All right, all right! It was mine." He confessed. "It was mine, all right? Nocenti said he was gonna testify against me." _

"That rat bastard!" Laurel snarled. "Get him, Ollie!"

* * *

><p><strong>Control Room<strong>

Rose looked over to Mia. "So," she said casually. "Dinah was **always **a ruthless bitch." Mia snorted.

"Oh, yeah." She replied.

**Sitting Room**

* * *

><p><em>Suddenly he saw something over the vigilante's shoulder and paled even further. The Hood spun, and arrow nocked as he came face to face with China White.<em>

"_Cóng tā shēnshang yí kāi" She demanded in Mandarin._

"_Ràng wǒ." He replied in flawless Mandarin._

_She came at him hard, knives flashing. He parried each blow with his bow. A kick sent him to the ground, but he was quickly up and blocking her again. In a battle of skills, The Hood was good- but China White was just a bit better. Another kick sent him sprawling to the ground, when suddenly a voice blared over a loud speaker._

'_This is the Police! Put down your weapons or we will open fire. I repeat, lay down your weapons!' _

_The two warriors spared one another a glance, and then both took off to opposite exits. The Hood made his way outside, tossing his bow on top of a shipping container and clambering up after it. Gabbing the bow, he leapt off. He started to run to where he had hidden his motorcycle when-_

"_Freeze!" Lance yelled, coming out from between two containers with his gun drawn. The Hood froze, his head down so that his hood hid his face. "You twitch and you're dead." He promised, moving a bit closer. "Bow down, hands up." _

"No way it's this easy." Lance admitted reluctantly.

_They stood there for a few moments, a silent battle of wills playing out. Then suddenly, The Hood pulled a flechette out of his thigh quiver and threw it side-handed. It knocked the gun from Lance's hand and pinned it to the shipping crate a few feet behind the Detective. Lance gasped, looking at his hand in disbelief, and then looking at his gun hanging from the crate. When he turned back to the vigilante, The Hood was gone. _

"How the hell does he do that?" Lance asked.

"No idea. But I'd love it if he taught me." Tommy remarked.

"It would make it so much easier to sneak out of their bedrooms, wouldn't it?" Laurel asked dryly. Tommy just grinned cockily in reply.

_Lance looked back at his gun, then noticed the flechette had some kind of device attached to the shaft. It looked to be a recording device, its indicator light blinking green. Lance cautiously hit the play button_

'_All right, all right! It was mine!" Martin Somers voice cried out. 'It was mine, all right? Nocenti said he was gonna testify against me…'_

Lance shook his head. "Son of a bitch."

_Lance looked at the recording device in disbelief- The Arrow had managed to tape Somer's confession. 'You son of a bitch.' He said as his fellow officer finally made it to the scene._

_Back at the Foundry, Oliver was putting his gear away._

'_Laurel was right.' His voice said. 'I can't be the Oliver my mother wants me to be and still keep the promise I made to my father. I have to be the person I need them to see me as.'_

"This definitely won't end well." Thea predicted.

_The scene changed to the next day, at the site for the new Applied Sciences Center groundbreaking. A crowd milled around as Moira and Thea stood on the stage. _

"_Oh! Excuse me, ladies." Tommy said, weaving through the crowd until he found his target. "Okay, this is a surprise." He said to Laurel, who shot him an amused look. "Did you show up here by mistake?"_

"_By invitation." She clarified. "Oliver invited me last night."_

"_Last night?"_

_Laurel smiled. "Is that surprise or jealousy I'm hearing?" she asked playfully. _

"_Look, I just don't want him to find out anything, okay?" Tommy said. "Oliver has been through a lot."_

"You're just afraid Ollie would kick your ass." Thea teased.

"Yes, I am." Tommy admitted. "And now, knowing what he could do? Doubly so."

"Hell, I'll tell him then." Lance said, earning disbelieving looks from his daughter and Tommy. Thea just laughed.

"_Tommy, we've all been through a lot." She pointed out. Their conversation was cut short by Walter, who took the stage._

"_Good afternoon, and thank you all for coming." He began. "Welcome to the future site of the Robert Queen Memorial Applied Sciences Center." There was polite applause. "Now, this is a building that will stand as a monument to the man whose company, and vision, are his greatest legacies."_

"_Whoa! Whoa!" a voice called out. Everyone turned to see Oliver, dressed in suit with no tie and obviously drunk. He paused by a waitress to take another drink and quickly downed it, give her the glass back. "What about me? Right? I'm a legacy." he said, managing to pull himself up on the stage, much to Thea's disgust and embarrassment. "Hey! Thanks for warming them up, Walt." He took the gold shovel from Walter and gently pushed him aside to stand in front of the podium as the crowd started whispering amongst themselves. _

Moira shook her head in disappointment. "Oh, Oliver. Of course you would do something like this…"

"You do know he's faking it, right?" Thea asked sarcastically. Moira gave her a look.

"I know, here and now." She replied. "But there?" she gestured at the memory. "I would just think he's acting up, like another child of mine." She sighed. "I just have to be sure not to push him so far, so soon."

"_All right. I got it, I got it." He smiled for the cameras. "Some of you may not know me. My name is Oliver Queen. Watch some television, read a newspaper, I'm kind of famous right now. Mostly, though, I'm famous because I'm Robert Queen's son." Moira's face fell as Thea looked on, unbelieving. "Uh, but as Walter, who's my new dad Huh? Who is… sorry. As Walter was saying, I'm not much of a legacy, per se."_

"_Oliver, you don't have to do this." Walter said quietly, trying to guide the drunk man away from the podium. Oliver waved him off._

"_No, sit. Sit! Gosh."' Walter reluctantly sat down, and Oliver turned back to the microphone. "See, I was supposed to come here today, and I'm supposed to take my rightful place at the company. Prodigal son returns home and becomes the heir apparent." He almost seemed to instantly sober up, the resentments he usually kept buried coming to the surface. "But I'm not my father. I'm not the man he was. I'm not half the man he was. I never will be. So, please, stop asking me to be." His point made, he planted the shovel in the mound of dirt besides the stage, then walked past his stunned family, Thea still shooting him a look, though it was more sad than anything else. He jumped off the stage and walked off, not saying another word._

_The scene shifted, and now a news report was playing as footage of police cars at the docks played._

'_Martin Somers, the CEO of starling port, was arrested last night for the murder of Victor Nocenti. He is also being accused of accepting cash, including over $10 million in bribes.' Joanna turned off the news and looked back to Emily Nocenti as they, with Laurel stood in the CNRI offices._

"_Well, we can pursue the civil suit if you want, but the D.A. now has no choice, with Mr. Somers' confession, to prosecute him." Joanna explained to the smiling girl._

"_He's going to jail, Emily." Laurel added. "For the rest of his life."_

"_Thank you so much for fighting for us." Emily said, shaking their hands. Laurel smiled back at her._

"_Well, thank you for being brave enough to let me." _

_Emily turned and walked out, just as Quentin Lance came in._

"_Hey." He said, smiling at his daughter. Laurel rolled her eyes and moved back to her desk._

"_I thought I didn't need police protection anymore."_

"_I thought I didn't need a reason to see my own daughter." He countered._

_Laurel sat down and smiled. "You don't." she looked him over. "You look tired."_

"_Yeah, I was filling out reports on the shootout at the port last night." Quentin explained. "And getting grilled about how I let that archer get away."_

"_I have to admit, I'm kind of glad he did." Laurel said quietly. "He brought down Martin Somers."_

"_He hurt a bunch of people doing it, okay?" Quentin pointed pout. "He is no hero. He is an anarchist."_

"_Yeah, well, whoever he is, it seems like he's trying to help." Laurel noted._

"_The city doesn't need that kind of help, okay?" Quentin said, somewhat heatedly. "It's like I always told you, you don't need to go outside the law to find justice. Now I believe that. All right?" Laurel looked up at her father as he continued. "And I promise you, when I catch this guy, he's gonna believe it, too."_

"Aye-aye, Captain Ahab." Tommy quipped. At Lance's look, he grinned. "Yes, I've read a book. Try not to faint."

_The scene changed to Oliver's room, where he pulled out his father's book and crossed Martin Somers off the List. Oliver stared at the far wall, remembering._

_We flash back to the Island, where a struggling Oliver carried his father's body to the top of a ridge overlooking the bay. He gently laid the body down and collapsed next to it. He began to arrange the body so he could bury it, when he noticed something in pocket of his dad's jacket. Reaching in, he pulled out a small, tan notebook. He flipped through it, noticing that all of the pages appeared to be blank. However, he noticed some kind of strange marking on the inside cover, and he stared at it in puzzlement._

_Back in the present, a long black limo pulled up next to a silver sedan on an abandoned stretch of road. Moira got out of the sedan and entered the limo. She closed the door and looked to the other occupant._

"_Well, you saw for yourself. My son knows nothing." She stated plainly, taking off her sunglasses. "Robert didn't tell him anything that could hurt us. And he has no idea that the yacht was sabotaged." _

Thea looked over at her mother in shock. Moira, for her part, was staring daggers at Malcolm.

_The second figure said nothing, even as he held up a small notebook to examine it. On the inside cover was the same symbol that was in Robert's book._

_Back at the Manor, when stood a respectful distance away as Oliver approached the two tombstones. Ignoring his own, he knelt down in front of his fathers. I his hands he held the notebook._

"_All that time on the island, plotting my return, I didn't realize how hard it would be." He began hesitantly. "To reconnect with Mom, Thea… Laurel….okay, I didn't," he paused for a breath, fighting to hold back his tears. "I didn't know how painful it would be to keep my secrets."_

"_You asked me to save the city." He continued. "To right your wrongs. I will. I swear. But to do that, I can't be the Oliver that everyone wants me to be," he explained sadly, "which means that sometimes to honor your wishes I need to dishonor your memory. I'm sorry." He finished with a whisper. Oliver took a few moments to compose himself, then stood._

"_Take it down." He told the workmen, jabbing a thumb towards his own tombstone. The two men went to work as Oliver approached the car, and Diggle, who had stood silent watch._

"_Will you be going out tonight, sir?" he asked as Oliver got in the car._

"_Definitely." Oliver replied as the door closed._

_Back on the island, Oliver was placing the last stone on the cairn he had entombed his father's body in. He stood to inspect his work-_

_There was a sudden whooshing sound-_

_And Oliver screamed in pain. Looking down at his right shoulder, he stared disbelievingly at the arrow that had pierced him from behind. He screamed in pain once more, collapsing next to the grave. He looked around, and in the distance behind him saw a figure. All he could make out through the haze of pain was a green hood as the figure readied another arrow._

"_No, no…" he said weakly. Then he said no more as he passed out from the pain._

They stared in stunned silence as the scene faded to black. But as horrible as seeing his best friend shot with an arrow was, something that had been said earlier had kept nagging at him.

'_Robert didn't tell him anything that could hurt us. And he has no idea that the yacht was sabotaged._' Moira had said to the mystery man. A man, who rode in a limo, with a book identical to the one Oliver had. 'Dad made the list,' Tommy thought, 'he had them printed out and given to other members of his cabal. And probably many of those men would ride in Limos. But who else would Moira Queen of all people show deference to, if not his father?'

Tommy glared at Malcolm. "What did you do, Dad?" Tommy said in a low, angry voice.

"What was necessary." He replied.

"You sabotaged the kid's yacht." Slade said with a smile on his face.

Tommy turned to stare at the man. "What, you're impressed by that?!" he exclaimed.

"More annoyed, actually." Slade admitted. "If your old man had done a better job, I never would have met the kid in the first place." At his shocked look, Slade continued. "I've made no bones I've got issues with the kid. So don't be surprised when I say I wish he had died."

Thea shot up and ran to the corner of the room, where there was a wastebasket. She promptly threw up into it. Moira came over and put a hand on her back, but Thea immediately broke free.

"Get the hell away from me!" she exclaimed.

"Thea, please-"

"NO!" she shouted. "First I see you hire men to kidnap your own son, now I find out that my dad was murdered, and YOU KNEW!"

"I didn't know beforehand…."

"You sick son of a bitch." Tommy said softly, staring at his father again. "How could you? He was your best friend!"

"Do you honestly believe that Oliver wouldn't have killed you if you had admitted to seeing him dispatch those kidnappers?" Malcolm asked reasonably. "When you work hard to accomplish something, you learn to do what it takes to see it come to pass. Even if certain things you are forced to do are… unpleasant."

"Unpleasant?" Lance snarled, his anger near the point of boiling over. "You had that boat sunk with my little girl on board, and you call that that unpleasant?"

"You can blame Oliver for that, Detective." Malcolm replied coldly. "Or your own poor parenting skills."

Lance leapt out of his chair towards Malcolm. Laurel screamed for him to stop-

Then suddenly, another scream took over the room. A scream so high pitched, so loud, that it brought Lance, Thea and Moira down to their knees, while everyone else covered their ears and winced in pain. Mercifully it was shut off only moments later. And as the ringing in his ears lessened, Quentin lance heard a voice he never expected to hear again.

"I know I've been away for a while," Sara Lance said, lowering her Canary Cry device, "but I'm pretty sure there's still a 'No Fighting' rule on this station."

**TBC November 3rd.**

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><p>AN: I received an anonymous review the other day that brought up a point that I wanted to address here. The reviewer said that it was unrealistic that Thea could best Slade, and that she was written as a Mary Sue character. 2 things: This Thea is older and far more skilled than the Thea we see on the show. She had additional training that I will touch upon around the completion of Season 1. Also, Slade was older, slower, and didn't have Mirakuru in his system anymore. Second- I am not writing Mia as a Mary Sue. I guess this is a personal feeling amongst the readers, but the Mia I am writing is an older Thea scared by events in her life that we haven't seen yet.

Timeless: Touché. I do have a bad record, don't I? Well, good news- I waited until I had 17 chapters fully in the can before I started posting, and now I have only four more to finish for season one before I begin transcribing season two. And I'll tell you what- before I start that, I'll finish writing the epilogue for One Day More.

EDIT: It's DONE! My Star Wars Saga is finally complete! Go check it out, if you like!

A/N 2: one thing always took me out of this episode. The place where Oliver got Somer's confession and fought China White was the same place they used for The Temple of the Five, I believe it was called, in the third season of Battlestar Galactica. Not surprising, as both shows were/are filmed in Canada. Also, a lot of BSG actors guest starred in the first season.

A/N 3: Sara, what are you doing here? You weren't supposed to show up for a long time yet! You know, this I kind of fun- I tried outlining this story, but I couldn't do it. So this is all very much stream of consciousness going on here. The only thing I know for sure is what's going to happen in the sequel. How I get there? That'll be the more interesting journey, from the writer's perspective.

A/N 4: And speaking of Sara… how 'bout that season premier? The sad thing is, I KNEW she had to die eventually, but I wasn't expecting the first episode of Season 3!

Mandarin Translations a'la Google Translate:

Cóng tā shēnshang yí kāi- Move away from him.

Ràng wǒ- Make me


	4. Chapter 3: Conversations

**Disclaimer:** Arrow is owned by The CW, Berlanti Productions, and Warner Bros. Television. The character of the Green Arrow and the Justice League is owned by DC Comics. I own nothing; I'm just playing in their universe.

**Chapter 3: Conversations**

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><p>Everyone stared in shock as Sara Lance walked into the room. A moment later, Mia came in as well, stopping as she saw the older woman.<p>

"Welcome to the party, pal."

Sara chuckled. "I leave you alone for five minutes, and look what happens." She held out her hand to her father, who hesitantly took it. Sara pulled him top his feet. "Hey, dad."

"Sara…" he pulled her into a hug, which she returned. "My god, Sara." He pulled away, looking at her. "You're old!" he exclaimed.

Sara laughed. "You should talk." She said. Then she looked over at Laurel. "Hey, Sis."

Laurel stared at her younger (older?) sister in awe. "How? She finally asked. "We saw you die. Oliver said you died!"

"Did anybody actually die on the boat?" Felicity said suddenly. She blinked at the disbelieving looks. "I said that out loud, didn't I?"

Sara laughed. "God, I've missed you Felicity." She told the woman. "It's been terribly dull without your ill-timed, overly sexualized references." Felicity blushed, and Sara looked at Laurel. "Don't be too hard on him," Sara said. "In his defense, he really did think I was dead. And don't be too hard on Mia, either," she added, looking back at her friend, "I asked her not to say anything."

"Why?"

"Sara," Mia interrupted, "Why don't you and the Lances' take a walk to the observation deck? You have some air to clear, I think." She turned to Moira and Thea. "Mom, clear this up," she ordered, gesturing between the mother and daughter. "Everyone else, we'll continue in a moment. You," she pointed at Malcolm, and then gestured with her finger. "Come here, dad." She snarled, then stalked out of the room. After a moment, Malcolm followed her. Sara led her family out soon after, leaving Moira facing Thea and Tommy while Diggle, Felicity and Slade watched. Thea stared at her, her arms crossed.

"Did you have my father killed?" she asked coldly. Moira winced at her tone.

"Thea, Malcolm-"

"THAT MAN IS NOT MY FATHER!" Thea shouted. "He's a sperm donor!"

"Let me speak, young lady." Moira said hotly.

"Why?" Thea asked. "So you can lie some more?" she scoffed. "I already get wasted because I feel so alone, because my own mother doesn't seem to care about me! I guess now I can get wasted because you are a murdering, psychotic bit-"

"THAT IS ENOUGH!" Moira screamed. It was so out of character that Thea was stunned into silence. Moira took a calming breath. "I may be distant, even cold. Lord knows Robert was better with you than I could ever be. But everything, EVERYTHING I've done over the past five years has been for YOU! To keep YOU safe!

"Safe from what?" Thea asked pleadingly.

"Not what, who." Moira replied.

"My father." Tommy realized.

Moira nodded. "A month before the 'Gambit' went down; there was a meeting at our house. After the meeting, Robert seemed… distressed. He normally didn't talk to me about what went on in those meetings- I just assumed that it was him schmoozing with the top business men in Starling City. But that night, he actually told me what was going on, and why he was going along with it."

"What?" Thea asked simply. Moira sighed, then led the two back to the couch. After they sat, she continued. "Malcolm is planning on destroying the Glades."

Tommy blinked, and Thea's jaw dropped. Felicity, Diggle and Slade, who were all listening, stared in shock.

"Say that again?" Tommy asked.

"Malcolm is having a device built that can create an artificial earthquake." Moira explained. "He's going to plant it in the old subway tunnels under the Glades."

"The picture in the book!" Diggle exclaimed, snapping his fingers. "It was part of a map of the old subway line!"

Moira nodded. "Once the Glades has been leveled, Merlyn Global will spearhead a movement to rebuild it, partnering with several other major corporations, including Queen Consolidated."

"What about all the people in The Glades?" Felicity asked softly. Moira only stared at her; the message was clear. "Oh." She said softly.

Thea brought her hand up to her mouth. "I'm gonna be sick again…"

"Why would Mr. Queen go along with this?" Tommy demanded. Robert Queen had been more of a father to him than his own dad; he couldn't fathom why he would commit mass murder.

"When Robert opened his steel mill in The Glades, there was an incident. A city councilman demanded a bribe from Robert in order to open the mill. Robert refused, and there was an argument. During the argument, blows were exchanged- and the councilman fell to his death."

"Dad killed someone?" Thea asked in a small voice. Moira shook her head and grasped her daughters' hands to comfort the girl.

"It was an accident, a horrible accident. Nothing more." She assured the girl. "But he panicked. And so he called Malcolm, who took care of it." She looked to Tommy. "After that, they formed Tempest, the organization I've talked about. And Robert was obliged to back Malcolm, since he knew where the body was buried. Literally." She shuddered. "Robert told me all of that the night after the meeting. And I convinced him that he needed to stand up against Malcolm, to put an end to his madness. That's why he was sailing to China; he was meeting with another associate, out of Malcolm's reach, to plan against Malcolm. But he found out, and had the yacht sabotaged." She let out a sob. "God help me, I killed my husband!"

Thea, though still in shock, pulled her mother in and held her tightly as she sobbed. "It wasn't your fault." she repeated softly, over and over. Tommy sat there, his head bowed, feeling impotent. Finally, Moira pulled herself together and pulled out of the embrace.

"About five weeks after the yacht went down, Malcolm approached me. He told me about Tempest, and about The Undertaking. He inferred that he had had the yacht sunk, though he never outright admitted it. He also inferred that a similar fate could befall you if I didn't carry on with Robert's commitments to the cause."

"He'd threaten his own daughter?" Felicity said, outraged.

"He didn't know she was his daughter." Moira replied. "No one knew, except myself and my OBGYN. After Malcolm made his threats, I thought about telling him," she looked to Thea. "I thought, if he knew you were his daughter, than he wouldn't harm you. But I didn't want to risk him taking you from me. I had just lost Robert and Oliver, I couldn't lose you, too."

"I told you," Thea said calmly. "Malcolm is not my father. Robert Queen was my father, and that- BASTARD- murdered him." She spat.

"I won't let him hurt either of you." Tommy promised. "I don't care if I have to take him down myself."

"He's your dad, Tommy." Thea pointed out.

"Robert Queen was more of a dad to me than my own father has ever been. And the fact the he's willing to kill hundreds, maybe even thousands of people…." He shook his head. "He's not my father. My father died with my mother; that man's just a monster." Tommy looked up to Slade. "Mia said you were a mercenary, you do assassinations?" he asked.

Slade barked out a laugh. "It's like Shakespeare! The heir apparent apparently wants to heir. Oh, the lives of the idle rich." He shook his head. "You're too emotional right now, Kid. Talk to me in a few days after you calmed down, then we can talk business."

**Control Room**

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><p>Mia marched in angrily, Malcolm on her heels. "OUT!" she yelled to Roy and Rose, who jumped up in surprise.<p>

"Uh, when I asked you if you were going to threaten to kill everyone in the room, I didn't think you'd _actually_ get to killing someone." Roy said hesitantly.

"Roy?"

"Yes, dear?"

"Get the fuck out." Mia said coldly.

Roy sighed. "Yes, dear." He looked over to Rose. "Let's go."

"We'll be back in ten minutes." Rose said, brooking no arguments. They both moved out of the room, and they both knocked into Malcolm on purpose. He rubbed his shoulder, annoyed.

Mia walked over to the screen and turned the volume up, and the two watched Moira explain Malcolm's plan to the others. Once Tommy had propositioned Slade to kill Malcolm, she turned the volume down. "Well, congratulations," Mia said mockingly, "You've driven your own son to the point where he's looking to have you killed." She clapped slowly. "Bra-fricking-vo."

"At least he's showing some backbone." Malcolm noted with a sneer. Mia shook her head in disbelief.

"You just can't help yourself, can you?" she asked. "You just can't help being an asshole!"

"Well, what do you expect of me, MIA?" he shouted back. "Everyone now knows the kind of man I am; it's hardly necessary to keep my public face on anymore. And on top of that, you just destroyed nearly a decade of hard work with your meddling! "

Mia glared at her father. "Your hard work? Your plans?" she spat. "You want me to tell you how your plans play out? You want me to spoil it early? FINE!" she started pacing in the small room. "Your plan is only partially successful, because Oliver and his team managed to find and deactivate one of the devices. He didn't know you had two until it was too late. That device did go off, and cause widespread destruction and chaos in The Glades, like you had planned." She laughed hollowly. "Not that you could bask in the glory of your plan; you were too busy trying to NOT DIE from the arrow Oliver shoved into your chest! And even if he hadn't, you couldn't have ridden in on your white horse, because Mom outed you to the City a couple of hours before the device went off. Yeah," he saw the look of surprise on his face, "Mom didn't want to be a mass-murder like you did. Go figure." She said sarcastically as Malcolm's rage at her insolence grew. She laughed at the look on his face. "And afterwards, with everyone knowing what you did? You couldn't show your face for fear of Ra's finding you. You couldn't' rebuild your city, so you left it open to be ravaged by criminals and gangs- the same type of people that killed your wife." She clapped sarcastically. "Congratulation on your abject failure." She sneered at Malcolm. "Rebecca would be so proud."

Enraged beyond reason, Malcolm surged forward to attack.

**Observation Deck**

* * *

><p>"Here we are," Sara said, leading her family on the observation deck. Quentin and Laurel stopped dead in their tracks, awed by the site. The Observation deck was a platform that jutted out of the side of the Watchtower, completely enclosed on three sides by massive, uninterrupted windows. The windows themselves rose three stories, curving back into the station while enclosing the two levels of balconies. The view permitted by the glass wall showed not only Earth, but the Moon as well. "Hell of a view, isn't it?" Sara said. "We also use this room for stellar cartography whenever there is an alien invasion."<p>

"I don't know what's weirder," Laurel said, recovering her wits. "That you said 'alien invasion' so casually, or that you said it at all."

"We aren't alone, Sis." She replied. "Heck, we got more than one alien on the team, so…" she trailed off as she looked at Laurel. "God, look at you! I forgot how young you once were." She looked over to her dad. "Both of you. You have no idea how good it is to see you, Dad."

"Not so much a spring chicken anymore?" he joked.

"You passed away about five years ago." Sara admitted. "Liver failure. So what I'm trying to say none too subtly is lay off the booze!" she tried to joke, but it fell flat.

"I'm talking to my dead daughter in a future space station, and you expect me to stay sober?!"

"Well, I know you'll stay sober." Sara smirked. "No booze allowed on the station." She looked from his indignant stare to Laurel's sad, yet hopeful face. "Laurel, I cannot begin to tell you how sorry I am."

"You have nothing to apologize for!" Laurel exclaimed, grasping her' sister's arms."Nothing!"

"That's bullshit and you know it." Sara replied honestly. "I was selfish; I was jealous. I wanted what you had, and I didn't care if I hurt you taking it. And while I'm sorry I got on that boat, I'm even more sorry that I hurt you."

Laurel pulled her sister in and gave her a fierce hug. "I forgave you a long time ago, Sara." She whispered.

"But speaking of that boat, how are you here?" Quentin asked. "We saw you die!"

"I almost did." Sara said. "I was swept out to sea and into the storm. It was blind luck that I found a large piece of debris to climb on to. It was even blinder luck that I got picked up by a passing freighter a few days later."

"A few days…" Laurel whispered in horror.

Sara's face was grim. "I'll tell you this now- my story and Oliver's overlapped a few times those first few years. Both on the island, and back in Starling City. You'll be seeing some of it in a few days, once you get to his second year under the hood. But believe me when I tell you- he truly thought I was dead when he told you as such."

"If you weren't dead, then where were you?" Quentin asked. "And for that matter, why tell Thea- Mia, whatever she's calling herself, not to tell us you were alive?"

Sara chuckled sadly. "Always the cop, asking the right questions. In this case, both questions are linked." She took a deep, calming breath. "After Oliver thought I had died on the island, I was found by a woman named Nyssa al Ghul. She had been dispatched into the area to look for a drug called Mirakuru- you'll find out much more about that in Oliver's memories. But instead of finding the drug, she found me." she sighed. "I was half dead; wounded and seriously dehydrated. But I intrigued her. I put up a defiant face even in the face of my own imminent death. Plus, she was able to discern that I knew something about Mirakuru, which I did. So she took me with her, back to her ship. She brought me back to her home- a place called Nanda Parbat- and healed my wounds. But saving my life came with a price, one I ended up accepting."

"What price?" Laurel asked.

"Nyssa's father was a man called Ra's al Ghul. He is the leader of the League of Assassins. And the price for saving my life was to swear an oath of fealty to Ra's; and to the League."

"You… became an assassin." Laurel said slowly.

Sara nodded. "Yes. And I swore to serve the League until my death, or until I was released."

"How?" Quentin asked. "How could you even-"

"Stop right there." She demanded. "The Sara you knew died on that boat. I was remade on that freighter, and that thrice-cursed island. I learned that sometimes, you had to do the unthinkable to survive. Sometimes you had to compromise your morality, your ethics, your very soul to live another day. In Nanda Parbat, I learned to survive by enduring pains that you cannot even imagine. And I learned to finally let go of the weak, vain girl that was Sara Lance. I was reborn." She lifted her chin proudly. "Ta-er al-Asfer was the name I took upon the completion of my training. And I worked in the League of Assassins to carry out their mission- to deliver true justice to those that deserved it. Yes, I've killed," she admitted. "But not one person that I have killed deserved any less. And while taking those lives weighed heavily on my conscience, and still do, I've learned to live with it." The pride had all but vanished from her voice. Her head was bowed; she dared not look at her family, and risk seeing their disgust and disappointment.

The three were silent for several minutes, digesting Sara's story, before Lance spoke. "I never wanted this for you." He said softly. Sara risked looking up at him; all she saw was sorrow and- love. "All I ever wanted for you was to be happy."

Sara smiled slightly. "I was happy. There were things about the League- not the missions, mind, but the camaraderie, the sense of belonging. We grew our own food," she said suddenly, her face brightening. "Can you just imagine me, growing my own food?" she laughed. "But we grew the food that we all ate, we maintained the buildings we all lived in. I fell in love there." Sara sighed. "That was the hardest part of leaving."

"You left them?" Laurel said, surprised. Sara nodded.

"Yes. And this brings me to your second question, Dad." She looked back at Quentin. "Why I asked Mia not to reveal that I was alive. In my timeline, this time line, Malcolm destroyed half of the Glades."

Laurel blinked. "Say that again?"

"What, sinking a boat wasn't ambitious enough for him?" Quentin snarled. "Now he's got to sink an entire town?"

"You're more correct than you realize." Sara told him. "Malcolm is having a device built that can trigger an earthquake. He plans to plant the devices in The Glades and set them off. If the pan worked, it would cause what seemed to be a natural disaster. Then Malcolm and his partners could ride in after the detestation and rebuild The Glades."

"But he would kill hundreds of people!" Laurel exclaimed.

"He will kill thousands of people." Sara said. Laurel gasped. "His plan was partially successful. Oliver managed to defeat him in combat, and Felicity talked you," she looked at Quentin, "through disabling one of the devices. But Oliver didn't know that there were two, and the other still went off." Laurel gasped in shock, so Sara leaned forward and took her hands in hers. "But that's the thing. That's one of the events were trying to prevent by bringing you all here. But anyway, I came back to Starling to make sure you all were okay. If the quake never happens, then I have no reason to return." She looked at them sadly. "I didn't want Mia to tell you about me because, if we succeed, than you would never know I was alive. I thought that would be easier for you."

"Let me tell you something," Quentin started. "I would rather know my daughter was alive and happy rather than dead and gone, even if I couldn't see her anymore. Now, if this is the only time we'll see you? Then I'll have to live with that. And I will, even if I'm not too thrilled by your career choice." That got a chuckle from Sara. She looked over to Laurel, who had a pensive look on her face.

"Oh, no you don't." Sara told her. She put a hand on her sister's shoulder. "Laurel, I need you to promise me something. I need you to promise not to come looking for me. Members of the League renounce all familial ties, and if an outsider like you starts snooping around, their first instinct will be to eliminate you."

"You'd kill your own sister?" Laurel asked, shocked.

Sara shook her head. "I might never even learn about it, or even hear about it until it's too late. Please, Laurel. Swear to me you won't come looking for me."

Laurel let out a disappointed sigh. "Fine. I won't look for you." Sara sighed in relief. "But I do have one more question. The name you took-"

"Ta-er al-Asfer." She supplied.

"What does it mean?"

Sara smiled. "It means 'The Canary'. It was the last piece of home that I refused to part with; my last connection to my family."

Quentin chuckled. "I remember that damn bird." He sighed, thinking of happier, simpler times. "So what happens now?" he finally asked.

"Now, we all go back down stairs, you two continue to watch the memory files, and I'll run this little op with Mia so we can hopefully avoid any more trouble."

Laurel snorted. "Good luck with that."

Sara smiled at her sister, and then brought the two of them in for a hug. "You're such a pain in the ass." Sara whispered to Laurel, but her eyes were on the second floor balcony.

On the balcony, Dinah Laurel Lance, otherwise known as the Black Canary, smirked at her younger sister. "Yes I am." She whispered, and then sank back into the shadows, leaving the three of them alone.

**Control Room**

* * *

><p>Blinded by rage, Malcolm attacked with all of the power he could muster, but hardly any of the skill. Mia contemptuously blocked his punches, not giving any ground.<p>

"Is that the best you can do, pops?" she snarled. "Ra's would be as disgusted with you as Rebecca surely would."

Screaming in anger, Malcolm rushed to tackle Mia, who easily sidestepped the lunge. She grabbed him as he went past and spun him around, sending him head-first into the wall. Malcolm staggered back drunkenly, stunned by the impact.

"My turn." Mia growled, and then attacked the man. Her moves were fluid, her short, powerful jabs striking at the various nerve clusters around his body. The first three hits had him writhing in pain; she then followed up with a kick to the back of his knee which sent him tumbling to the ground. At once she was on top of him, her knee pressed into his throat. He tried to lash out, but she sent another jab to a nerve cluster that left him momentarily paralyzed.

"Do I have your attention now?" she growled. "I spent two years under you, being trained by you, indoctrinated by you. Two years of having your anger and bitterness infect me while I was trying to deal with my own. I was a lost, broken girl when you came to me, and despite everything you had done, all the pain you had caused, I still left with you. Because, deep down, I desperately wanted the family I had lost. I desperately wanted a father to hold me and tell me everything would be okay." Her lips curled into a sneer. "But you couldn't even do that right."

"I left with you because I was tired of being weak. I wanted to be strong, so I could finally stand up for myself. You made me strong, Malcolm. But you also twisted me into something I never should have been- a killer."

"Killing is sometimes necessary." Malcolm ground out painfully.

"Yes, it is. But it should never be your first choice. Even the League of Assassins teaches you never to take a life unless it is necessary!" Mia sighed, and then rose to stand over Malcolm. "I didn't' bring you here to beat you up. I didn't bring you here to humiliate you. I brought you here because, deep down, you want to save our city. You WANT to be a good man. You just let your grief and guilt cloud your mind." She stared hard at him. "You need to understand that destroying The Glades, that killing everyone living there, will not save the city. And it won't bring back Rebecca."

"THEY DESERVE TO DIE!" he shouted. "All she ever wanted to do was help those people, and how did they repay her? Some punk robbed and shot her, and no one came to help her as she laid out in the street, bleeding to death! NO ONE!"

"Not even you." Mia said softly, deflating his anger with three simple words. "At the end of the day, that's what it all comes down to. You could have picked up the phone, but you chose not to. Just like the people in the Glades chose not to help her. But those people feared for their own lives. Their situation was already so bad there that they wouldn't help their own neighbors, because if they did they risked getting a bullet in their backs." She looked at him sadly. "I believe you can be a good man, dad. I believe you can save our city. All I'm asking you is to keep an open mind, to consider that the Undertaking is not the solution you hoped for. It never was."

She reached out her hand to him; Malcolm grasped it and pulled himself back up. Malcolm stared back with long held tears in his eyes. "I could have saved her…" he said brokenly.

"Maybe you could have, maybe not. If I could, if they'd let me, I'd go back further and save her life. I need you to know that I looked into it. But her death was a fixed point in time. Too many things came out of it- good and bad."

"But you tried?" he asked quietly. She nodded. Malcolm looked the woman over. "What happened to you, Thea? He asked, immediately noticing the twitch in her eye at the use of her real name. "What happened that caused you to renounce your own name? That caused you to go through all of this?" he gestured around.

She looked at him sadly. "I, too, lost people I loved. And I, too, feel guilty." She chuckled mirthlessly. "I suppose this is MY Undertaking."

Malcolm took a moment to compose himself. "And you think there is a better way?" he asked. "I tried Oliver's way when I first came back; it didn't work."

"With all due respect, you didn't try it Oliver's way. Oliver hasn't even gotten around to trying it his way yet. Right now, he's going through the motions. Soon, though," she smiled. "Soon, you'll see him achieve more than you could have hoped for. All I'm asking for now is for you to keep an open mind. Please." She added.

Malcolm considered the woman for a few moments, and then finally nodded. "Fine" he said. "What now?"

"Now, we continue with the mission." She sighed. "I really fucked this up. In hindsight, I really should have briefed you all first, then shown you the memories. I had forgotten how quickly things were revealed." Mia shook her head. "Well, nothing to be done about it now. Let's head back."

"The others won't be too thrilled to see me." Malcolm pointed out.

"Let me worry about that," she started, opening the door. As it opened, Roy and Rose tumbled in slightly from having listened in at the door. "Really?" Mia said dryly.

"Just making sure everything was okay." Rose said.

"Hooray," Roy said dryly, looking at Malcolm, "You survived."

"Roy, behave." Mia commanded.

"Yes, dear." He replied cheekily.

Mia turned and grabbed Malcolm's arm. "Okay, pops. Let's go." she said as she led him out into the hallway and back towards the sitting room.

"'Yes, Dear'?" he said, a question in his voice.

"That was Roy, my husband." Mia said simply.

"Your husband?" Malcolm looked back towards the control room; Roy was standing there, glaring at him. "I don't like him."

Mia cursed in annoyed amusement in Arabic. In English she merely said, "_Now_ he's the over-protective father. Come on," she opened the door to the sitting room, everyone else was already back in it. "Let's get this show on the road."

**TBC 11/5/2014 (Bonus chapter for my birthday!)**

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><p><strong>AN:** Yeah, so this chapter wasn't supposed to happen until after Malcolm is revealed to be the Dark Archer in the show (Episode 9, Year's End). But it fit better right here. Also, this was initially supposed to be part of the Lone Gunmen episode, but at a little over ten pages, I decided to split it off into its own chapter.

A/N 2: If you haven't checked out the Green Arrow comic yet, now is a great time. The new creative team also worked on the TV show; they've brought Diggle on board, and they just introduced the New52 Felicity Smoak, which looks to be similar to the Arrow Felicity that we all know and love. Also, Mia Dearden is being introduced! Which is funny, because one of the reasons I'm using that name in this story was because Mia was one of the victims of the Great Purge that also claimed characters like Cassandra Cain, Wally West, and Tim Drake (because that is NOT Tim Drake in the comics right now).

I don't know if people there are actually reading this, but I've got hits from the U.K., Germany (Hi Jodi!), Israel (my peeps!) and a couple of dozen other countries and that blows my mind. Give me a shout out in the reviews if you're reading from somewhere other than the US. And if you're in the US, review anyways!

A response to Timeless for Star Wars: the New Jedi Order- One Day More:

Timeless,

I was acutely aware as I wrote the epilogue of how I was doing what I absolutely LOATHE- writing of a major battle in a flashback and not showing it. But at the end of the day, the story wasn't about that war- it was about Anakin returning home and saving his galaxy. I never had any intention of writing about the other Vong war, as in the end all it was meant to be was a plot point.

That being said, the thing with Xander was decided at the last minute, as was the ending. I had a happier ending planned at one point, but A) it's been so long that I've forgotten it and B) War has a cost. And at the end of the day, even with the information Anakin provided, it wasn't going to be a blood-free war.

Also, you seriously need to create an account so I can respond to you directly:)

And finally, as for Jacen- don't be too hard on him. Vi can be really scary if she wants to.

**-Naitch03**


	5. Chapter 4: Lone Gunmen

**Disclaimer:** Arrow is owned by The CW, Berlanti Productions, and Warner Bros. Television. The character of the Green Arrow and the Justice League is owned by DC Comics. I own nothing; I'm just playing in their universe.

**Chapter 4: Lone Gunmen**

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><p>As they walked in the room, Sara gave Mia a sly smile.<p>

"At least I didn't have to beat up my family." She said.

Mia scoffed. "You only say that because you're retired and don't have to be around Dinah every freaking day. Come up here and deal with some of her shit, then talk to me about beating up your relatives." Mia smirked at Laurel. "Another benefit of this whole thing working: hopefully, you won't grow up to be such a bitch." She winked at Laurel's indignant look. "All right, now that everybody's had a chance to settle down, I have something to say. I owe you all an apology." She sighed. "I hadn't realized how quickly facts would become known before the events had played out. If I had, I would have briefed you all before you started viewing the memories, so you would have more time to adjust. But I didn't and now it's too late to do anything about it, so we're going to press on. "

"I do want to say this, though- I'm sure you'll see more things that will upset you. Hell, if you think Malcolm is bad, wait until we get to Slade." She sent a look to the mercenary, who smirked in response. "But again, there will be no fighting! And I swear, next time someone tries to throw a punch, I'll put someone in the room, and you won't like who."

"Batman?" Sara asked.

Mia shrugged. "He does owe me a favor." She turned back to the group. "Now, shall we begin?" at their nods, she smiled. "Good. Sara and I will go cue up the next memory sequence. I think we can get through two more before calling it a night." With that, the two women turned and left. Malcolm, seemingly impervious to hatred and mistrust in their stares, calmly sat down.

"I suggest you all get comfortable." He said, hiding the pain he felt from his fight with Mia. "Apparently, we have a long road to travel." Everyone sat down, with Tommy electing to stay next to Thea. Diggle, who had the remote, pressed play as soon as the screen came back on.

_The scene opens with Oliver in the Foundry. He's working out, as per his usual, though this time he's using cement blocks and chains as a make-shift weight station._

"I swear he put these memories in just to entice the female audience." Tommy noted sourly.

"I'm not complaining." Felicity remarked.

"Me, neither." Laurel added.

"I think it sucks." Thea complained. "Mostly because it's showing just how inadequate my past boyfriends have been."

Tommy shot her a look. "How many boyfriends have you seen shirtless?" he demanded.

"Quiet," Thea said, suddenly nervous. "The scene's still going on."

'_My Name is Oliver Queen.' His voice sounded over his workout. 'To my family, I am the brother and son who just returned home after being lost at sea 5 years ago. They don't know I came back with a mission, to bring justice to our city, and they never can.' He pulled the chain taught, holding the cement blocks up in the air several feet for a few seconds, then let them drop. The blocks shattered on the hard concrete floor. Oliver toweled off and moved over to his workbench, pulling up some information on his computer. _

'_The men and women I've targeted are dangerous, corrupt; a virulent cancer. Cancers like James Holder, whose corporation put defective smoke detectors in low-income housing in The Glades.' He pulled out his father's notebook and flipped through its pages until he found Holder's name. 'There have been many fires and too many funerals. But cancers can be fought and conquered.' He opened his munitions box and pulled out his bow, testing its flexibility and looking for any significant damage. He found none. 'All it takes is a surgeon and the right instrument.' With that thought, he moved back to his bench to string his bow and prepare for his night's meeting with James Holder._

_The scene changed to the rooftop pool of Holder's penthouse. He was in a bathrobe, drinking a beer getting ready for a swim as he talked on his phone to a colleague. _

"_Heh." He laughed at something the other person said. "Other than the bill I got handed this morning by my legal team, I'm feeling pretty good. Plus, now that this lawsuit's been settled, we can focus our attention on Unidac Industries." He listened for a moment. "Ok. I'll see you in the office first thing." He cut the connection and tossed the phone onto a poolside couch. He took a breath and looked around the skyline, then brought the bottle of beer up to take a drink-_

_And it was shattered by an arrow._

_Holder spun around to see The Hood standing there._

"_I have armed security inside." He threatened. "All I have to do is call out."_

"_Go ahead." The Hood replied, tossing the two guns he had liberated from their owners to the deck. "They can't hear you."_

"_What the hell do you want?" Holder demanded. _

"_How many people died in those fires?" The Hood growled. "How many?! The courts say you don't owe your victims anything; I disagree. James Holder, you-" Before he could finish, a shot rang out, and a bloody wound appeared on Holder's chest, right where his heart was. _

"Jesus!" Tommy exclaimed.

"How many people wanted him dead at the same time?" Thea asked rhetorically.

"I know about those fires," Quentin said, leaning forward. "A lot of people died. I'm surprised no one took a shot at him yet."

_As Holder's lifeless body was falling into the pool, The Hood spun around and started firing arrows towards where he believed the shooter was. He ducked down behind a low wall just as two more shots rang out. One pierced the wall and into his arm; the other missed entirely. Then it was silent. Oliver looked to the pool to see Holder's body slowly sinking to the bottom, then he glanced over the wound on his arm with a frown._

"Well, whoever was shooting was a pro." Diggle stated. "Long distance, close grouping. And he managed to tag our boy while he was on the move."

_The scene shifted back to the lair as Oliver extracted the bullet, and then sewed up the wound. Once finished, he put on a shirt and got up, moving over to his workbench and opening the notebook. _

'_It's no surprise a man as corrupt as James Holder has more than one enemy.' His voice said as he crossed Holder's name off the list. He sat back in his chair, a look of discomfort playing over his face. He suddenly got to his feet, and then staggered into the table. He caught himself on the edge and barely stopped himself from falling down._

"What the hell?!" Thea exclaimed.

'_The bullet.' He thought as he staggered over to the other bench, digging around in the surgeon's pan for the offending piece of metal. 'Poison!' he realized. _

Diggle shot forward, and intense look on his face suddenly.

"Who the hell uses poisonous bullets?" Laurel asked.

"I've heard of a guy, Lawton I think his name is." Slade said, admiring the man's work. "He's second best in the business, behind me."

_He grabbed a water bottle and sprinted to his munitions crate, practically sliding into is as he crashed to the floor. He deftly undid the lock and dug around for something, finally pulling out a small leather pouch filled with mysterious herbs. He took a large pinch of the herbs and threw them into his mouth, then started chewing them as he opened the water bottle and took a drink. Once done, he collapsed to the ground, unconscious._

"And his solution to being poisoned is to get high?" Thea asked unbelievingly.

"Those aren't those kind of herbs." Slade said. "They're something he found on the island. They have amazing regenerative effects."

_The scene flashed back to the island, where Oliver awoke in a cave. Groggily and in pain, he looked around, then down-_

_To see the arrow still sticking out of his shoulder._

"Oh yeah," Tommy said as they stared in shock. "In all the excitement, I forgot he got shot."

_Oliver groaned in pain as he struggled to sit up, but he stopped moving as another man entered the cave. He was a thin Asian man, with a scraggly beard and long, stringy black hair that was partially obscured by the green hood he wore. He carried a bow and on his back was a quiver filled with arrows. _

"Familiar hood," Felicity noted.

"_Who are you?" Oliver asked, frightened. "Why did you shoot me?"_

"_Wèile bǎohù nín." The man replied in Mandarin. He kneeled down besides the boy and held out a handful of herbs and a small bowl with water. He indicated to Oliver to take the herbs and water. "Yǐnliào." He said in Mandarin. Oliver finally got the hint and, taking a small pinch of the herbs, put them in his mouth. He choked slightly on the acrid taste and quickly down the water. After he finished drinking, the man grasped the arrow and pulled it out through his shoulder, causing Oliver to cry out in pain once more._

Moira gasped in shock; Thea and Laurel both looked away.

_Back in the present, Oliver gasped as he regained consciousness. The first thing he noticed was sunlight streaming down upon him; the second thing was an alarm. He looked up at his computer monitor, and the clocked that showed 7:10 on its face. Cursing to himself, he shot to his feet and grabbed his jacket to head home._

_The scene changed to Queen Manor. Oliver walked in through the house, shaking his arm in slight pain. He slowed as he approached the sitting room, where Moira and Walter were talking with two cops as Thea sat glumly on the sofa._

"Oh, boy. Here we go…." Thea muttered.

"_What happened?" Oliver asked Diggle, who was standing watch in the doorway. "Thea ok?"_

_The bodyguard turned to face him. "The cops brought her home." He explained. "Her and some of her friends broke into a store, tried on some dresses last night. Lit up the breathalyzer like a Christmas tree." _

"Thea!" Moira exclaimed.

"I would say something," Tommy started, "but in this case, that would just make me a hypocrite."

Laurel smirked at him. "At least you recognize the fact." She said.

_Diggle looked the younger man over. "So how was your evening, sir?" he asked dryly._

"_You mean after I said I had to go to the bathroom at dinner and never came back?" Oliver shot back glibly._

"_I guess from now on I'll be watching you pee." He replied. The two stared at each other for several moments before Oliver moved past him to Thea, a small smile on his face that rapidly disappeared. _

"_Thank you, officers. My wife and I appreciate it." Walter was saying to the cops. "I'll see you out." The tall Brit walked the two cops out of the room as Moira turned to her delinquent daughter._

"_Last time it was public intoxication." She started, "This time breaking and entering. My, how we are moving up in the criminal world."_

_Thea tiredly got to her feet. "You know, when you pay off the store owner, you should check out the merchandise. They got some pretty killer outfits." She replied sarcastically. _

"Maybe I just won't pay them off that time." Moira said archly.

"_Thea, go get ready for school." Moira said. Thea gave her a look._

"_Uh, you know, I was thinking of taking a sick day." She stated, silently daring her mother to argue. Moira didn't._

"_Fine, then get some sleep." She said wearily. Thea gave her a sarcastic smile as she sauntered out of the room. _

"_You look like crap." She told her brother on the way out._

_Oliver looked at his mother in disbelief. "You're letting her play hooky?" he asked. Moira sighed._

"_When your sister gets like this, it's best to give her her space."_

"_She's testing you." Oliver reasoned._

"_Yes. Who'd she learn that from?" Moira pointed out._

"_Mom, when I was her age, you and dad let me get away with murder." He said. "Looking back, I could have used less space and more parenting." Oliver turned and left, leaving a contemplative Moira behind._

"He's right." Moira said. "I should have been a better parent."

"Honestly Mom, you've got a lot on your mind." Thea shot a dirty look at Malcolm.

_The scene shifted to Holder's penthouse swimming pool, where the coroners were busying fishing the corrupt businessman's body out of. Detective's Lance and Hilton looked on._

"_It doesn't make sense." Lance was saying to his partner._

"_Holder fits the profile." Hilton replied. "Wealthy dirtbag. Red meat for the Hood. And we recovered at least one arrow." He offered._

"_Yeah, only this time the cause of death is a double tap through the heart and our perp doesn't use firearms." Lance pointed out._

"_Maybe he's finally figured out there's easier ways to kill people than with a bow and arrow." Hilton said, only half-joking. "It's like you said, the guy's a whack job." Lance looked at his partner, then at the body being secured to a stretcher, unconvinced._

_Back in the Lair, Oliver tested the bloody gauze from his wound, trying to confirm a suspicion. He proved himself right when the blood reacted to the chemicals. _

'_The bullets were laced with curare, a rare and deadly poison, the killer's unique M.O.' Oliver's voice said as he started pulling up various federal databases, searching for a profile that fit. He found it on Interpol's database. 'He's killed all over the world Chicago, Markovia, Corto Maltese. Interpol even has a codename for him: Deadshot.' _

"Deadshot…" Diggle whispered to himself. Now he had a name for Andy's killer.

_He studied the limited information in the file. 'I was prepared to give James Holder a chance to right his wrongs, but this Deadshot has no morality, no honor, no code. He doesn't kill for justice, which makes him as dangerous as anyone on my list. In fact, it puts him right at the top.'_

_Later that day, Oliver led Tommy and Diggle through the Foundry- the upper level, that is._

"_So what do you think?" Oliver asked his friend as he gestured around the empty building. "Great spot for a nightclub or what?" _

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me!" Tommy laughed. "It's genius! It's exactly the kind of job people would expect him to have, and it gives him cover for staying out late every night!"

"And, if I'm not mistaken, gives him easy access to his secret hideout." Laurel added. She shook her head in admiration.

"_Sweet." Tommy said. "Though I got to tell you, man, if you're thinking about calling it 'Queens', I don't think you're gonna get the clientele that you were hoping for."_

_Oliver pointed towards an upper level, where the foreman's offices had been. "Private office." He suggested._

"_For the private one-on-one meetings, I would imagine." Tommy inferred with a smile._

"_Hopefully the occasional two-on-one meeting." Oliver joked back. Tommy turned to his friend._

"Pigs." Laurel, Felicity and Thea all said at once. Malcolm have his son a disapproving look, which Tommy ignored.

"_Man, are you sure you want to do this?" he asked seriously. "It's not like you really have any experience in running a… well, running anything." Oliver just gave him a mildly insulted look. Tommy slapped him on the back. "How about tomorrow night the two of us, we go and scope out the competition." He suggested. "There's a new club opening downtown. It's called Poison. Max Fuller owns it."_

"Bad idea." Laurel said, giving Tommy a look.

"Why?" Quentin asked.

"_Max Fuller?" Oliver asked._

"_Mm-hmm." Tommy nodded._

"_I slept with his fianc__é." Oliver pointed out with a smile__._

"_Yeah, before the wedding."_

"_It was at the rehearsal dinner."_

"_The rehearsal dinner is technically before the wedding, right?" Tommy pointed out with a smile. _

Quentin gave a disgusted grunt as Moira shook her head in disappointment. Slade snorted in amusement.

"So this is how the idle rich live." He mused. "I have no idea how that kid survived a week on the island."

"_And besides, who stays mad at a castaway?" Tommy's phone rang, and he looked at it. "Ah, dammit, I got to roll. He said, slipping the phone back in his pocket. "Anyway, I'll see you later, man. Good place!"_

"_See you." Oliver called out, then looked to Dig._

"_So what do you think?" he asked._

"_Well, I'm here to provide security, sir, not a commentary."_

"_Oh, come on, Dig, do me a favor." Oliver said earnestly. "Speak freely, please."_

_Diggle took a moment to compose his words. "Well, this is The Glades, right?" he started. "Your rich white friends wouldn't come to this neighborhood on a bet."_

"_I __**am**__ Oliver Queen, right? People would stand in line for 3 hours if I opened a club." He pointed out._

"_And no one who actually lives in The Glades would see a penny of those cover charges." Dig said._

"_So we make it a successful business, we gentrify the neighborhood."_

"_I was wondering when we would get to that." Dig scoffed. "The white knight swooping in to save the disenfranchised. And all by his lonesome with no help from anybody."_

"_Wow." Oliver said. "You don't think very much of me, do you?" _

"_No, sir." Dig disagreed. "Actually, I have a very high regard for how perceptive you are. Sir." He walked out of the foundry. Oliver took a last look around._

'_The nightclub will conceal my base underneath,' Oliver's voice said, 'and provide an alibi for where Oliver Queen spends his nights.'_

"Nailed it!" Tommy exclaimed. He held out his fist to Laurel, who just rolled her eyes. "What, you gonna leave me hanging?"

"Yup." She replied, popping the 'P'.

_The scene shifted to CNRI, where Laurel was reading an article on Oliver opening a club. She was so engrossed that she didn't hear Joanna approach._

"_Hey. Do you have the depos on the Jergens case?" her friend asked. Laurel frantically tried to close the article, but not before Joanna got a glimpse. _

Quentin gave his daughter a pained look. "Really, Laurel?" Laurel sheepishly avoided eye contact with everybody.

"_Yeah, they're around here somewhere." She dug around her desk. She didn't miss the look Joanna sent her. "I was just surfing the 'net." She said defensively._

"_Really?"_

_Laurel sighed and looked to her friend. "Joanna, I'm over him." Another look. "And you don't believe me."_

"_Well, I would have if I wouldn't have just caught you trolling for articles on him!" Joanna shot back._

"_I wasn't trolling!" Laurel shot back, exasperated. _

"_I don't want to have to be the one to remind you that he cheated on you, Laurel. With your sister."_

"_I appreciate your self-control." Laurel said dryly._

"_You're stuck in the past." Joanna advised. "And the reason I know this is the fact that the only physical relationship you've had since Oliver is with his best friend. It is time to move on." She decided. "It is past time."_

"_I've been busy." Laurel hedged. "I work a lot."_

"_Ok. That's got to stop." Joanna decided. "So we are going out tonight. And we are going to have some shots, and we are going to dance with men that we don't know, and we are going to stay out way too late." She plucked a folder off Laurel's desk. "Oh!" she exclaimed wryly. "Jergens depos."_

"_I really don't think I can go out tonight." Laurel tried. Joanna just gave her a smile._

"_It is adorable that you actually think I'm giving you a choice." She said, walking away._

_The scene shifted back to Queen Manor, where Thea was getting dressed for school. She was putting her tie on when Moira walked into her room._

"_I want you to come home right after school." She said._

"_Oh, can't." The said absently, checking her appearance in the mirror. "Margot and I are going to go to the mall."_

"Margot is a horrible influence." Moira muttered.

"There's nothing wrong with Margot!" Thea exclaimed. "She's just a bit-"

"Stoned?" Tommy suggested.

"**WILD.**" Thea glared at her half-brother.

"_What, more shopping?" Moira asked rhetorically. "Tell Margot you'll have to cancel. You're grounded for two weeks."_

"_Grounded?" Thea looked at her mother, incredulous. "I've never been grounded."_

"_Well, you've never committed larceny before." Moira replied pointedly._

"_Since when do you care?" Thea demanded._

"_I've always cared." Moira replied defensively. "I'm your mother."_

"_Look, we've had a good thing going on the last five years." Thea said, annoyed. "Why mess with that now?"_

_Moira walked further into the room, right up to Thea. "No, we are paying off store owners to keep your record clean, so clearly, it hasn't been working."_

"_And you're going to teach me." Thea scoffed, her arms crossed. "It's Oliver, isn't it? His judgmental hypocrisy is rubbing off on you."_

"It sounds more like common sense." Malcolm noted.

Thea glared daggers at him. "I don't want parenting from a murder." She spat. Malcolm held his tongue.

"_No, I don't need Oliver to teach me how to parent you." Moira shot back. "You'll be home by 4:00."_

"_Or what?" the asked snidely. "You're going to call the cops on me?" She walked past her mom, grabbing her purse on the way out of the room. "Tell them I say hi." Moira looked on, exasperated._

Moira looked over at Malcolm. "My anger at you aside, if she even thinks about taking that tone with me when we get back, I may ask you to have your associate bring her home. Gently." She emphasized.

Malcolm smirked. "He'd be only too happy to."

Thea stared between the two in disbelief. "Unbelievable." She said.

Moira looked back at her calmly. "You don't like it? Don't break into the store. And if I say you're grounded, take me seriously."

"I could throw her in lock up for a night." Quentin offered.

Moira offered the man a slight smile. "Thank you, Quentin. Hopefully," she looked over to a sullen Thea, "I won't have to take advantage of that offer."

"You've all gone insane." Thea ground out.

"In this case Speedy," Tommy said with a smirk, "You have no one to blame but yourself."

_The scene shifted to Holder's penthouse. On the ground, Oliver was surveying the area, thinking back to the night he was shot. He looked up at the penthouse, then over to where he believed the shots came from. Three shots were fired at him- one hit his arm, one hit a retaining wall, but one overshot the building. He followed where he thought the trajectory carried the slug. Spotting something far up on one building's outer wall, he leaped into action- literally. Applying his parkour skills, he scaled the wall. Approaching the bullet hole, he pulled out his knife and carefully extracted the bullet._

"What's he doing?" Lance wondered. "Is he going to run his own ballistics?"

"Couldn't he do that with the bullet he pulled out of his arm?" Felicity asked with a wince.

"No, that was only a fragment." Lance replied. "The bullet he pulled out of the wall is the entire slug."

_Back at SCPD headquarters, Quentin was looking over the crime scene photos when Hilton approached._

"_Got ballistics back on the Holder murder." He announced. "They pulled two 7.62 millimeter bullets out of him. According to the stippling and size of the entry wound, they estimate the shots were fired from approximately a hundred yards away."_

"_A hundred yards?" Lance repeated. "What, so the hood shoots him from another building, goes over to his place, he takes out his security, and then he fires off a few arrows? _

"_And according to his tox screen, his blood contained high concentrations of strychnos toxifera."_

"_- What?" Lance asked, his look saying 'speak English.'_

" _- Curare." Hilton clarified. It's a kind of poison."_

"_Oh." Lance said dryly. "Ok, so now we switch from arrows to sniper bullets and poison." He shook his head. "I'm not buying it."_

"_We still found arrows on the scene." Hilton said, clinging to his theory. "Solid evidence the Hood was there." Lance got up and started walking out. "Where you going?" he asked tiredly._

"_I'm going to get my own evidence." Lance said, walking out. Hilton sighed and dropped the folder onto Lance's desk._

"Hilton's a good cop, but once he makes up his mind about something, it's a pain in the ass getting him to change it." Quentin noted.

_The scene shifted to the Foundry, where Oliver was running his own ballistics on the round he pulled from the wall._

'_7.62 millimeter rounds.' His voice said as he stared at his computers. 'The money trail leads back to the Bratva- the Russian mob. Finally some good luck.'_

Quentin perked up at that. Moira leaned forward, a worried look on her face.

_The scene changed again, and now Oliver was walking into a Russian auto repair shop. He approached two men working on an old Mustang._

"_Ya ishchu Aleksi Lenonov." He stated in flawless Russian._

_The elder of the two, a bald, rough-looking Russian turned to stare at Oliver. "There's no one here by that name." he responded after a moment._

_Oliver shook his head and moved in closer. "Ne v vashem garazhe." He said. "V podvale pod." The bald man indicated to his compatriot, who mace out from underneath the car and pulled a gun. As he brought it up, Oliver deftly disarmed the man, sending him to his knees with one hand as he pulled the gun out and disassembled it. He then pulled down the collar of his shirt, exposing the tattoo on his chest. _

"_Ya Bratva." He announced. He allowed the second man to get up, and he moved behind the bald man. _

Lance clapped his hands together once in excitement. "I KNEW it!" he crowed as the rest of the room look on in shock.

"How in the hell did he join the Russian Mob on a deserted island?!" Thea demanded.

"It wasn't deserted." Slade said. "But I do remember a Russian; I'm not sure if he was Bratva, but it's possible."

"_Ya khochu videt' Alexi Lenonov." Oliver demanded again._

_The bald man moved to Oliver and offered a short bow. "Pleased to meet you." He said in English. Oliver nodded in return._

_Soon, they were walking through a door and down a set of stairs to the basement, the headquarters for the Starling City branch of the Bratva._

"_I apologize." Alexi was saying. "We meant no disrespect to a Captain. Particularly an American one." _

"And high ranking. What the hell did Queen do?" Lance wondered aloud.

_He stopped at a table and began pouring two shots of vodka. "So, how can I be of assistance?"_

"_I'm in the market for a hired gun." Oliver stated. "Someone the organization's used before. His calling card is a 7.62 millimeter gun laced with curare."_

_Alexi shook his head. "I know no man who uses such tools."_

"_But you can find out who does." Oliver countered. Alexi handed him his shot._

"_First, we will drink to each other's health, then I will look into the identity of this man you seek." The two drank._

"_Ahh." He said as the alcohol went down. "I will also confirm that you are really Bratva captain." He said, smiling. "Should this not be the case, I will send my mechanic here to find you and kill you and your family." He indicated the second man, who had taken position on the second flight of stairs. Oliver stared at the two men for a moment, then left. _

Lance shuddered. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I hope he really is a Captain in the Bratva," he looked over to Moira and Thea, "For your sakes."

_As he walked out of the shot, he caught the end of a news broadcast._

'_Carl Rasmussen was found shot to death in his home earlier this evening.' The reporter was saying on the television. 'The police will not comment if there's a connection between Mr. Rasmussen's death and the murder of James Holder a few nights ago. Mr. Rasmussen leaves behind a wife and three children.'_

_The scene changed to Queen Manor, where Detectives Lance and Hilton were talking with Walter and Moira._

"_It's a great loss." Walter was saying. "Carl was a titan."_

"_A titan who was looking to buy out a company called Unidac Industries?" Hilton observed, looking at his notes. _

"_Well, Industries are something of a misnomer." Walter explained. "UI's recent activity was actually looking into alternative energy."_

"_I think the point my partner is trying to make is that Carl Rasmussen was the second bidder this week to lose his life." Lance cut in._

"_Are you implying something, Detective?" Moira asked archly._

"_Well, only that your husband's looking into buying Unidac Industries and the competition seems to be dropping like flies." Lance pointed out._

Moira let out an exasperated sigh as she shot Lance an annoyed look. He merely shrugged.

"_And I'm sure your veiled accusation has nothing to do with how you feel about my family?" Moira shot back, annoyed._

"_Unidac's in receivership, Detective." Walter cut in before things got heated. "Ownership is subject to a liquidation auction, so that means there are many prospective buyers. And the auction's tomorrow, so if I was taking out the competition, I have a lot of killing to do in a very short amount of time." He finished, dryly._

"_We're just making the rounds with the interested buyers." Hilton put in, trying to diffuse the tension. "Let them know to be careful."_

"_Oh, yes. And I'm overwhelmed that Detective Lance is concerned for our safety." Moira said sarcastically._

"_Well, thank you for your concern, gentlemen." Walter said. He nodded towards Diggle, who stood in the doorway. "Our security consultant, Mr. Diggle, is taking all the necessary precautions."_

"_Yeah. Right." Lance slapped his knees and rose. "Well, if you need us," he said as he and Hilton started to leave "we're just a 911 call away." Moira shook her head in exasperation as the cops left._

"Very professional, Dad." Laurel said dryly.

_The scene shifted to outside the club Poison. Tommy and Oliver, followed by Diggle, made their way to the head of the line. The bouncer undid the chain and let them through at once. _

"Well, there's no way this could possibly go wrong." Laurel noted.

"_Ha ha ha! Oh, my, this is going to be killer." Tommy exclaimed._

"_If Max never sees me here, I agree." Oliver pointed out. Tommy just clapped him on the shoulder._

"_Ah, if you want to run a business, you've got to take a few risks."_

_The bouncer closed the chain just as Diggle came up. He stared at the bodyguard impassively._

"_I don't see your name on the list." He stated._

"_Mr. Queen." Dig called out. Oliver spun around and headed back. He patted the bouncer on the shoulder. "Oh!" he said jovially, pointing at Dig. "I have never seen this guy before in my life. Ever." He gave Dig a wink and headed back inside with a laughing Tommy. Diggle just sighed._

Thea snorted. "Denied!"

Diggle shook his head, but his mind was still on Deadshot.

_The two men walked in to the club and looked around. It was dim and loud with the sounds of music and laughter. They watched the ladies dance, then as one headed towards the bar. Tommy spotted her first._

"_Oh, wow!" he exclaimed "Doesn't you going out and having fun violate some kind of law, you know, like the ones that are carved on a stone tablet?"_

"That's cute, Tommy." Laurel said, shooting him a glare.

_Laurel gave him a look. "That's cute, Tommy."_

"Repeat yourself much?" Tommy joked.

"_Thanks."_

"_I can see you two are up to your old hunting patterns." She noted wryly, eyeing Oliver._

"_Just seeing what passes for fun in Starling City after five years." the former castaway said_

"_Ah. Well, I'm sure you'll find that it just hasn't been the same without you."_

_The three were spared further conversation as a very drunk Thea stumbled up to Oliver._

"Oh, Come on!" Thea shouted. "We get it, I get drunk!"

"A lot." Laurel added.

"Whatever!" she exclaimed. "All I'm saying is that we don't need to see it every five minutes."

That wouldn't have been a problem if I hadn't gotten drunk and stoned every night for five 's jovial voice sounded over the speakers. Thea dropped her head into her hand and groaned.

"You are so far beyond grounded that I can't begin to describe it." Moira said icily.

"_Big brother!" she exclaimed. "Oh! I am so wasted right now. There is… there is two of you." She finished, waving a finger between the real and imaginary Oliver. Her brother looked back at her sternly._

"_I thought you were grounded." He stated. Tommy and Laurel both turned back to the bar, suddenly very uncomfortable._

"_I am." She crossed her arms. "And thank you for that, by the way."_

_Oliver stepped in closer, glaring at his sister. "You're done for the night."_

"Well, thank God Oliver is being….responsible." Quentin ground out.

"Bet that hurt." Tommy remarked.

"You have no idea." He Detective replied.

"_Oh, what are you going to do?" she asked defiantly. "Tell mom?"_

"_Thea!" he exclaimed, but reigned in his emotions. "You are hanging with the wrong people." He tried._

"_You're one to talk." She looked over to Tommy and Laurel with an evil glare. "How much do you know about your own so-called friends over here?"_

"_Ok Thea, maybe you should-" Tommy started, but Thea cut him off. "Tommy I think your BFF has a right to know." She said snidely._

"_Thea, let's go." Oliver tried to lead her away, but she was having none of it._

"_Well, I guess they never told you that they've been screwing while you were gone." She shot the two a satisfied look as Laurel and Tommy suddenly found it hard to look at Oliver. Oliver, meanwhile, never looked away from Thea._

Thea winced and shrank in on herself as Tommy and Laurel both glared at her.

"_Look, man, I-" Tommy started to say, but Oliver cut him off._

"_Tommy," he said softly, looking at his friend. Tommy looked back uncertainly. "It's ok." He said earnestly. Oliver turned back to Thea, anger evident on his face. "You and me, we're done for the night." He grabbed her arm and started dragging her towards the door._

"_Take your hands off of me!" she yelled, yanking her hand free. "You're not my father." She hissed. "And you're barely my brother." She stalked off, leaving an angry Oliver behind._

"_Well, well… look at this." A voice said from behind him. "Oliver Queen."_

_Oliver turned to see "Max Fuller." He said, eyeing the two bodyguards that flanked the man. "How've you been?"_

"_Happy you drowned."_

"Asshole." Tommy and Laurel both said in unison.

Slade and Malcolm both knew what was coming, and both were wondering how Oliver would handle himself.

_Oliver was led to a curtained off area. He knew what was coming, but he tried to reason with the man. "Hey, Max-" he started, but was thrown to the floor by a punch from the club owner. He forced himself not to react. _

"_Get him up!" Max yelled to his bouncers, who roughly pulled him to his feet._

"_Hey, let him go, let him go!" Tommy yelled, rushing into the area and putting himself between Oliver and the goons. "Hey, I said let him go!"_

"_Told you he was going to be pissed." Oliver said quietly._

"_Back off, Merlyn." Max said. "This isn't your problem."_

"_You want to get to him? You've got to go through me." Tommy eyed the goons as they grinned to one another, and then looked over his shoulder at Oliver. "Wow, they are probably going to get through me." Without another thought, Tommy threw the first punch, knocking one of the bouncers back. _

Malcolm smiled. He was proud that Tommy had put himself between his friend and danger like that, but he was surprised that he'd thrown the first punch. He honestly hadn't thought Tommy had that kind of courage in him.

_Oliver went after the other, even as he tried to keep his true skills hidden. Holding back, the fight soon turned in Fuller's bouncers' favor, with Tommy and Oliver on the floor. Max stood back at the curtain, a satisfied smile on his face-_

_At least until Laurel came in, hitting him several times in the kidneys, and then kicking the back of his knee out. She spun him, then flipped him onto the ground hard. The bouncers stopped and looked back at the brunette._

"You go, girl!" Felicity exclaimed. Laurel chuckled.

"Daughter of a cop. What'd you expect?" she said with a grin.

"_So is this over, Max?" she asked harshly. "Or are you going to have your boy's pound on me next?"_

_Max ungracefully stumbled to his feet. He glared at the three. "You three consider yourselves banned for life." She snarled. "Get the hell out of my place!"_

"_Your club sucks anyway." Tommy shot back._

"You know," Felicity started, "I could probably hack into his security feeds, copy the videos, then send them to the cops and media. I'm sure a lot of people would be interested in seeing Mr. Fuller's bartenders serving minor's alcohol."

Tommy looked at her with a grin. "Blondie, I like how you think!"

"Except for the fact that Thea won't be in that club when we get back." Moira said sternly.

"_You guys ok?" Laurel asked. Oliver looked at his ex._

"_Where'd you learn to do that?"_

"_Cop dad, remember? He made me take self-defense classes."_

"_Laurel," he started, "What Thea said-_

"_Oliver, Tommy and I don't need your blessing." She pointed out. "And I don't need your forgiveness."_

_The scene flashed back to the cave. Oliver slowly came back to consciousness. Glancing around, he saw the Asian man sound asleep. Quietly he got to his feet and swiftly made his way out of the cave. Once outside, he ran through the forest. He paused a moment to catch his breath, then started moving again- only to be ensnared in a net, which dragged him up five feet into the air._

_Back in the present, Diggle was leading Tommy and Oliver into Big Belly Burger. He waved at a cute woman behind the counter, who waved back. "Why don't you guys take a seat, and I will grab a couple of burgers and some ice for those faces."_

_Tommy smiled at the woman. "The girl's pretty cute." He said casually._

"_That's my sister in law." Diggle said, a steely glare at the younger man._

"_-Who I will never speak to or look at." Tommy replied at once. "Ever. Gonna grab a booth." Tommy headed to the back of the restaurant. _

In the present, Diggle glared at Tommy.

"_She's not wearing a wedding ring." Oliver noticed. "Brother out of the picture?"_

"_Yeah, you could say that." He replied. Oliver headed back to Tommy, while Dig headed over to Carly. "Hey you." He said._

"_So sweet of you to adopt two white boys." Carly joked, leaning up against the counter. "They need a good role model."_

"_That's my client Oliver Queen." He explained. They watched the batted young man drop painfully into the booth._

"_Looks like you're doing a bang up job protecting him." She remarked._

Thea snorted. "When he can find him…" she muttered.

"_Mmm." Dig agreed._

_At the booth, Tommy was working up his courage. "Look, man about Laurel." He started. "I was going to tell you. I was just trying to figure out the right way."_

"_To tell somebody that you slept with their girlfriend after they went missing and were then presumed dead." He replied seriously, and then gave a small smile. "What, there's no greeting card for that?" he joked. The two laughed._

"_Look it was wrong." Tommy said, seriously. "And I'm sorry."_

"_Tommy." Oliver started quietly. "I was dead."_

"_No, man, you were with Laurel." Tommy replied, cutting him off. "And whether you were dead, or as it turns out, alive on a deserted island, you are my friend. And me being with Laurel violated that friendship in about 50 different ways."_

"_Thank you." Oliver said earnestly. "But it's ok."_

Tommy let out a small sigh. He had been truly worried about Oliver's reaction, and was glad he was okay with it.

_Back at the counter, Carly was still talking to Diggle. "How dangerous is this gig, anyway?" she asked, concerned._

"_It's a cakewalk, Carla, don't worry." He assured her._

"_Too late." She said. "Or have you forgotten this job got your brother killed? Because, Dig, I haven't. I can't." she walked away._

"_You are being really chill about this." Tommy remarked to Oliver back at the booth. Before he could reply, his phone rang. He pulled it out._

"_Hello?" he said, then spoke in Russian. He held the phone to his chest and looked to Tommy. "It's a Russian model calling me." He explained with a smile. "Can we- can I have a minute, please?"_

_Tommy laughed lightly as he got up out of the booth. "I can see now why you were able to be so chill." He remarked. "Enjoy."_

"_So I checked out?" he said._

"_You did." Alexi replied. "His name is Floyd Lawton. I have address where he stayed last time he was in Starling City. But that is all."_

"_Let's hope he's a creature of habit." Oliver replied. "Go."_

"_1700 Broadway Pell Hotel, room 52." Alexi replied. "You'll leave us out of this, yes? Assuming Mr. __Lawton doesn't kill you first." Oliver hung up._

Malcolm watched the scene approvingly. The Mob could sometimes be a better source of information than all of the law enforcement agencies combined. He was impressed that Oliver had figured that out.

_The scene changed to Oliver standing outside room 52. He kicked the door open and fired an arrow, narrowly missing Lawton as he dived off the chair and behind his bed. He came up, right arm extended and sprayed the doorway with bullets from a wrist-mounted fully automatic submachine gun. Oliver ducked back outside, and waited for him to reload. As Lawton changed clips he got two more arrows off, but Lawton propped up the mattress, blocking them. He sprayed bullets once more, then jumped out the window behind him. Oliver rushed into the room and looked out the window, but there was no sign of him. As police sirens got closer, Oliver grabbed the damaged remains of Lawton's laptop and ran out._

_The scene shifted to the next day at Queen Consolidated, as Oliver made his way through the I.T. department, stopping in front of a particular cubicle._

"Hey, that's me!" Felicity exclaimed happily as the other's chuckled. "About time I showed up!"

"_Ahem." He cleared his throat, getting the blonde woman's attention. "Felicity Smoak?" he asked, smiling. "Hi. I'm Oliver Queen."_

"_Of course." She said, surprised. "I know who you are, you're Mr. Queen."_

"_No, Mr. Queen was my father." He stated with a smile._

"_Right, but he's dead." She shook her head, embarrassed. "I mean, he drowned." She closed her eyes, trying to compose herself. "But you didn't, which means you could come down to the I.T. department and listen to me babble. Which will end." She slowly rotated away from Oliver. "In 3… 2… 1…" she turned back._

"So that's a normal thing?" Thea asked teasingly as Felicity blushed.

"_I'm having some trouble with my computer and they told me that you were the person to come and see." He said, laying Floyd Lawton's laptop down on her desk. "I was at my coffee shop surfing the web and I spilled a latte on it." He lied. Poorly._

_Felicity looked at him. "Really?" _

"_Yeah."_

_She ran her hand over the casing. "'Cause these look like bullet holes."_

"_My coffee shop is in a bad neighborhood." He added smoothly. _

Tommy slapped his forehead; Laurel looked on in disbelief.

Lance shook his head. "How the hell haven't I arrested him yet?" he wondered aloud.

"I'm wondering the same thing myself." Moira added.

Thea looked over to Felicity. "You wouldn't really buy that, would you? She asked.

Felicity pointed to her hair. "It's dyed, not natural. Obviously I know he's full of it."

_She tilted her head and gave him a look that said 'Really?' Oliver smiled down at her. "If there is anything that you can salvage from it, I would really appreciate it." He said in a hopeful tone. Felicity gave him one last look, then shrugged and picked up the laptop._

"You know he's lying, and yet you still do it." Malcolm observed.

Felicity shrugged. "I like a challenge." She said simply.

_Back at Queen Manor, Thea was in her room, texting on her phone. Moira walked in, and momentarily was shocked that Thea was home._

"_Oh." She exclaimed pleasantly. "Well, good, you're here."_

"_I'm under house arrest, remember." Thea shot back, not looking up from her phone._

_Moira held up two dresses. "Do you want to wear the Calvin Klein or the Zac Posen?" she asked. Thea looked up._

"_For dinner?" she said, confused. "I was just going to wear pajamas."_

"_To Walter's stock auction." Moira explained._

_Thea groaned and looked back to her phone. "I think I'd rather be grounded."_

"_No, it's important that you come." Moira pressed on._

"_Important to whom?"_

"_To me." Moira insisted. Thea looked up at her incredulously, and then turned back to her phone. Moira sighed and sat on the edge of the bed, putting a hand on Thea's arm. "All right, listen to me. When you were four years old, you came home one day with a cat. It was a stray, it was filthy, and it was mean. But you stood there and you declared that it was coming to live with us. Your father came home from the office and he saw what was going on, and he sat you down and he explained to you that the cat was in fact a tiger and that we needed to get it home. And somehow you understood." Thea smiled slightly at the memory. "Robert was always so good at getting through to you." She continued. "I… I was always so jealous of that." She admitted._

Thea sniffled. "I remember that." She said quietly. Moira smiled.

_The two were silent for a moment. Thea's eyes were wet with unshed tears. Finally, Thea spoke. "You never talk about him." She stated. "Dad. That's the first time you've talked about him in years."_

"_Well, I think you and I have gotten into some bad habits." Moira finally said. "There's been a lot that has changed recently, Thea, and I think that maybe this can change, too." She patted Thea's arm and rose from the bed, leaving Thea to think._

_Back at Queen Consolidated, Felicity was working her magic on the laptop. She managed to pull up several image files._

"Ha! Easy as pie!" Felicity exclaimed. "and I men pie pie, not pie as in 3.14159, which you might think because I'm a bit of a nerd…"

"Breath, Felicity." Diggle advised.

"Right, breathing is good." She replied.

"_It looks like blueprints." She said._

"_Do you know what of?" Oliver asked._

"_The Exchange Building."_

"_Never heard of it."_

"_It's where the Unidac industry's auction is scheduled to take place." Felicity explained. At his look, she pressed, "I thought you said that was your laptop."_

"_Yes." Oliver stated._

_Felicity sighed. "Look, I don't want to get in the middle of some Shakespearian family drama thing."_

_Oliver's eye flickered rapidly between the computer and Felicity. Confusion played across his face. "What?"_

"_Mr. Steele marrying your mom." She explained. "Claudius, Gertrude, Hamlet?"_

"_I didn't study Shakespeare at any of the four schools that I dropped out of." Oliver said bluntly._

"_Mr. Steele is trying to buy Unidac Industries." lay out plainly. "And you've got a company laptop associated with one of the guys he's competing against."_

_Oliver nodded. "Floyd Lawton."_

"_No" Felicity interjected, "Warren Patel." She looked at him. "Who's Floyd Lawton?"_

"_He is an employee of Mr. Patel, evidently." Oliver explained lamely._

'_The Exchange Building is surrounded by 3 towers with eye lines into the building.' Oliver's voice said as he stared at the blueprints. 'Lawton could get a kill shot off from virtually anywhere. But I can't cover the area. I can't protect all of Deadshot's targets. I can't do this alone.'_

_The scene shifted to outside the SCPD headquarters later that night, where Lance was walking to his car. He was suddenly grabbed roughly from behind and slammed into the hood of a cruiser. Looking back, grunting in pain, he saw The Hood pinning him down, holding one arm back in a vice-like grip, preventing him from getting up._

"_Ah, you son of a bitch!" he started._

"_Detective, quiet!" The Hood whispered._

"_You've got a pair on you, pulling this right outside the police station!" Lance snarled._

"_Floyd Lawton's the one targeting the buyers interested in Unidac Industries. Interpol calls him 'Deadshot' because he never misses. You can look this up after I go." The Hood told the detective._

"_Yeah, and stop chasing you, I suppose?" he grunted as The Hood cranked back on his arm slightly. _

"_Warren Patel hired Lawton." He continued. "I can't be sure who they're targeting, it might be all the buyers, and I can't protect them in a space that big. I need your help." He pleaded._

"_Yeah? Professional help." Lance scoffed. _

"_Lawton laces his bullets with curare. Tell your men to wear Kevlar." The Hood finished._

"_I'll them to shoot you-" he gasped as an arrow was driven into the hood of the car right next to his head. Suddenly the pressure on his arm was gone, and he shot up and looked around- but The Hood was gone. Looking back at the hood, he noticed the laptop for the first time._

"How the hell does he do that?" Quentin grumbled.

_The scene shifted to later that night at the Exchange Building. Moira and Walter were standing in the grand foyer, chatting quietly with one another. _

"_Well, it's quite a turn out, huh?" Moira remarked, looking around. Walter hummed in agreement._

"_Well, it's quite an opportunity, actually." He said. "But regardless of the outcome of the auction, I'm already a winner because I have the two most beautiful women at my side tonight."_

"_Two?" Moira asked in confusion._

"_Mm-hmm." Walter looked up past Moira, and she turned to see Thea enter in a tasteful blue dress. "Thanks for coming, Thea." He told the young woman, kissing her on the cheek. "It means a lot to your mother. And me." Thea smiled and hugged her mother._

"Suck up." Tommy teased under his breath.

"Shut up." Thea replied with a smile

"_Mr. Steele, the auction will be opening in 5 minutes." A woman said, coming up to the group. "Please make sure your bid is ready."_

"_Thank you, Gina." He replied, and then looked to his two ladies. "Shall we?"_

"_Mm-hmm." Moira agreed, and the three walked into the main room._

_Warren Patel was talking to some of his fellow businessmen when Detective Hilton approached him._

"_Warren Patel." The cop announced, grabbing the man by his arm. "I'm going to need you to come with me, sir." Oliver watched from the top of the stairs as Patel was led away. Across the room on the balcony, Lance was monitoring the situation on his radio._

"_Unit one, all clear." Lance announced. "Unit two, you copy?"_

'_We have Patel in custody.' Hilton's voice sounded. 'Still, no sign of Lawton.'_

"_Unit three?"_

'_I'm at the northwest perimeter. All clear.'_

"_Unit four?"_

'_Parking structure is clear.'_

"_Unit five, what's your status?" he asked._

_Across the street in an under construction floor of an office building, Deadshot lifted up the radio. "This is unit five." He said. "All clear." He put the radio down and grabbed his sniper rifle, paying no attention to the dead cop on the floor._

Quentin paled. "Oh, shit…."

"You should consider challenge codes." Malcolm noted. Quentin glared at him, but internally he agreed with the man.

_The scene changed to show Laurel walking through a deserted courthouse._

"You seriously need to get out more." Tommy noted.

"I tried that." Laurel shot back. "It ended with me having to save your butt."

"_Oh, what a shock." She looked up to see Tommy sitting in one of the chairs that lined the wall, grinning at her. "It is Friday night. What are you doing here?" he asked._

"_Well, I am an attorney and this is a courthouse, so I think the better question is, what are you doing here?" she countered._

"_I wanted to talk to you about last night." He began._

"_You mean how I saved your asses? You're welcome." She said teasingly. Tommy rose from the chair._

"_Ok, first of all, we shall never, ever speak of that ever again." He said with a smile. "And secondly, I think you know that I meant the other thing."_

"_I don't care to talk about that." Laurel said, movie to walk away._

"_I spoke to Oliver." Tommy said, stopping Laurel in her tracks. "He was surprisingly cool."_

"_That's because he knew." Laurel realized. At Tommy's confused look, she pressed on. "Did you see his face when Thea told him? Tommy, he didn't even blink. Trust me, he knew."_

"_Then why didn't he say anything?" Tommy asked. Laurel shrugged._

"_I don't know. Maybe because he knows he doesn't have any right to judge me."_

"And he doesn't." Laurel said, her arms crossed.

"_There's a silver lining, though." Tommy said after a moment. "Now that the whole truth and nothing but is out, is there a chance now for you and me?" they stared at one another. "You said you didn't think that I was a one girl type of guy. I'm going to prove you wrong." He decided._

"_By dating me." Laurel said._

"_By being better." He clarified. "By being someone that you deserve and that you want to be with." He finished earnestly. _

_Laurel smiled. "Well that's certainly a guy I'd be interested in meeting." She said finally. Tommy smiled._

"_Good. Now how about we start, ahem, by getting you the heck out of here." He took the case files from her and held out his arm. "Come on, it is Friday night. Come on." He encouraged. Laurel sighed and took his arm._

"_Fine." She said, smiling._

Laurel looked over to Tommy speculatively. He grinned slightly in reply.

_The scene shifted back to the Exchange Building. Oliver entered the main room, only to be brought up short by a familiar voice._

"_Well, don't you scrub up nice?" Lance said sarcastically, as he cast his eyes around the room._

"_Here to support my family." Oliver stated with a tight smile._

"_Yeah, me too, God help me." Lance remarked crossly._

"_Thank you." Oliver said quietly, in honest thanks. Lance scoffed at him and moved off. Oliver moved into the room and headed to his bodyguard. "Dig," he said to the man, his yes looking around the room. "Got your eyes open?"_

_Dig gave him a look. "That's what I'm here for, sir." He said, annoyed. "That and answering patronizing questions."_

"_This guy's out of time." Oliver said plainly, still looking around. "If he's going to do something, it's going to happen before the auction."_

Diggle leaned forward. "What the hell is he doing?" he wondered aloud.

"He's beginning to realize what I realized." Malcolm said. "That he can't save this city alone."

"He's bringing me in?" Dig asked.

"That's my impression." Malcolm replied.

_Diggle looked at him, partly in confusion and partly in worry. "Sir?" he asked. Oliver looked at him, the mask back on suddenly._

"_I heard the story on the radio." He said lamely. _

"_Oliver!" Walter exclaimed happily. Oliver walked over to the man. "So pleased you were able to attend."_

"_Hmm." He replied. "Walter, the police said that some of the Unidac bidders were murdered." He told the man, worry in his voice. "I just think that we should be a little bit more careful. My mother's already lost a husband." He finished quietly._

"_Well, if Moira shared your concern, she wouldn't have come." Walter said, unconcerned. "And she definitely wouldn't have brought your sister." Oliver looked up in shock at his mother and sister standing only a few feet away. He made his way over to them._

"_Hi." He said, motioning to Diggle, who hurried over._

"_Oliver, what a wonderful surprise." Moira started, but Oliver ignored her._

"_I need you to get them out of here right now." He told Diggle._

_Across the room, Lance was still looking around, worried. A flicker of red light caught his eye, and he looked over, glancing at Walter- who had a small, red dot on his chest over his heart. It took only a second for Lance to realize what it was, and he took off running. He tackled Walter to the ground just as the sound of shattered glass echoed throughout the room, and the waiter that had been standing behind Walter flew back, killed by Deadshot's missed round._

Moira and Thea let out a startled cry.

_Screams erupted, and Diggle grabbed Moira even as Oliver grabbed Thea and hurried them out of the room. More shots rang out, and another man went down._

"_Are you ok?" Oliver asked Thea. She nodded, and he looked to his mother. "Are you hurt?" he demanded._

"_No, I'm fine!" she replied shakily. "Where is Walter?" she asked, terrified that he was dead. Oliver looked around and saw Detective Lance leading him out of the room. _

"_Walter's fine." He assured her._

"_Sir, I have to get you out of here." Diggle started, but Oliver shook his head._

"_No, them. Them!" he demanded, pointing at his mother and sister. He then turned and ran off, leaving his mother calling after him._

"_Go, go," Diggle said, pointing to the exit. "I'll find him, ma'am, I'll find him." He assured her._

_Oliver ran up the service stairs, pausing briefly at a trashcan. He pulled off the lid and pulled out a duffle bag. Opening the bad, he extracted his hood, and then continued up the stairs. A minute later, Dig came up the stairs, pausing briefly at the trashcan._

"Why there?" Malcolm wondered aloud. "Why stow his gear in such a public space?"

"The kid has to know there's probably security cameras around there." Slade agreed.

"Maybe it's the best place he could come up with on such short notice?" Felicity said. Malcolm shook his head.

"No, he's thinking of something." He said. "I suppose we'll have to wait and see."

_Across the street, Deadshot was continuing to fire into the Exchange Building when suddenly The Hood crashed through the window. He landed and rolled, ducking behind a column as Deadshot sprayed bullets from his wrist gun. Oliver returned fire, missing twice. There was silence as Lawton looked for a kill shot._

"_Drop your guns." The Hood yelled._

"_I admire your work." Lawton replied. "Guess you won't be extending me any professional courtesy."_

"_We're not in the same line of work." The Hood snarled. "Your profession is murder."_

"_You've taken lives." Deadshot shot back._

"_For the good of others." The Hood defended. "You're out for yourself." Deadshot scoffed, then opened fire, spraying the column with bullets. As soon as the clip was empty, The Hood whipped around and fired, then ducked back behind the column. He heard a body drop, and then waited a few more moments to be sure. Finally he peeked out-_

_And saw Deadshot on the ground, apparently dead, with an arrow through his targeting sensor eyepiece. _

Diggle stared at the scene with a satisfied look on his face. 'At least Andy's killer's been brought to justice.' He thought.

_He stared at the body for a moment, before a groan caught his attention. He whirled around to see Dig, slumping against a doorframe, wounded by a ricochet from Deadshot. Without hesitation, The Hood ran over to him, put Digs' arm around his shoulders, and walked him out._

"Oh, no." Felicity said, looking at Diggle, whose own face had paled slightly. "Poisoned bullets."

_The scene flashed back to the Island, where Oliver awoke with a start to see the Asian man standing before him, a machete in his hand._

"_Shǎguā." He said in Mandarin. "Zhège dìfāng tài wéixiǎnle, rènhé yīgè rén dúchǔ." He walked over and cut the net down, sending Oliver crashing to the ground. "Tāmen huì shāle nǐ." The man declared. Oliver made his way out of the net, scrambling to his feet as he heard something heading through the bush behind him. He ran after the Asian. Moments later, soldiers in all black appeared. They studied the net, tossing it aside and moving off after a few minutes._

Tommy sat up suddenly. "Who the hell are they?" he asked aloud.

"Mercenaries." Slade replied.

"Friends of yours?" Tommy asked, but shrank back at the glare the man sent him.

"No, they are not." Was all he said.

_Back in the present, The Hood led Diggle down into the Foundry. Laying him on a table, he moved to the munitions crate and pulled out the bag of herbs. Mixing some in water, he fed the potion to Diggle, who coughed slightly but drank._

_Sometime later- it could have been minutes, it could have been hours, Diggle came too. He looked around in confusion, wondering where he was. He struggled to sit up, finally doing so. As his surroundings came back into focus, he spotted a familiar face. Across from him, leaning against another table and dressed in green leather and hood down, was Oliver Queen._

"_Hey." He said as Diggle looked at him in stunned silence._

"He was testing you, earlier." Malcolm decided. "He was probably thinking of bringing you in, and this just accelerated his plans."

"Yeah, well… I'm not too sure about how receptive I'm gonna be." Diggle replied. "Don't get me wrong, I'm glad as hell Deadshot is dead-"

"He killed your brother, didn't he?" Malcolm surmised. At Diggle's surprised look, he explained. "At the restaurant, you introduced the woman as your sister-in-law, but stated your brother was dead. She seemed worried about your job, which leads me to believe that your brother was in a similar line of work, and was killed. Finally, you've been on edge ever since Oliver ran his ballistics, and the look of satisfaction on your face was unmistakable."

"And how would you know about that look?" Diggle asked suspiciously.

"Because I wore a similar look as I watched the man who killed my wife die." He replied, shocking Tommy and most of the rest of the room.

Finally, Diggle spoke. "Well, you're right. His M.O. fits the profile of the guy who killed my brother Andy. He was protecting some rich dude. Deadshot missed the principal and hit my brother instead."

"You're operating under a false pretense." Slade said. Dig looked over at him. "I have heard of Floyd Lawton; he is very good. But the reason they call him Deadshot is because he never misses."

"So?"

"So, if he shot your brother, than your brother was the target." Slade replied. Diggle fell back into the couch, thinking about what Slade had just said.

Over the speaker, Mia's voice suddenly called out. Okay, folks. One more and we'll call it a night. She said, loading the next memory sequence.

**TBC 11/17/2014**

**A/N: **I had a review that remarked on me writing future events that have now been proven false with the start of Season 3. I just want to clarify- this is AU. I can pretty much guarantee that what happens in my story will never happen on the show.

Kind of irked today- I just moved, so I don't have TV access just yet. Which means I'll have to wait an extra day to watch Arrow on iTunes. And MY GOD, does Emily Bett Rickards look hot as hell as a goth or what? Though she needs a nose ring to finish the look, IMO.

**Translations:**

Wèile bǎohù nín- To protect you

Yǐnliào- Drink

YA ishchu Aleksi Lenonov - I'm looking for Alexi Lenonov

Shǎguā- Fool

Zhège dìfāng tài wéixiǎnle, rènhé yīgè rén dúchǔ - This place is too dangerous for any one man to be alone

Tāmen huì shāle nǐ - They'll kill you


	6. Chapter 5: An Innocent Man

**Disclaimer:** Arrow is owned by The CW, Berlanti Productions, and Warner Bros. Television. The character of the Green Arrow and the Justice League is owned by DC Comics. I own nothing; I'm just playing in their universe.

**Chapter 5: An Innocent Man**

* * *

><p>Felicity grabbed the remote this time. "Well, on that cheerful note…" she muttered as she pressed play.<p>

_The memory set begins with a recap as The Hood led Diggle down into the Foundry. Laying him on a table, he moved to the munitions crate and pulled out the bag of herbs. Mixing some in water, he fed the potion to Diggle, who coughed slightly but drank._

_Some time later- it could have been minutes, it could have been hours, Diggle came too. He looked around in confusion, wondering where he was. He struggled to sit up, finally doing so. As his surroundings came back into focus, he spotted a familiar face. Across from him, leaning against another table and dressed in green leather and hood down, was Oliver Queen._

"_Hey." He said as Diggle looked at him in stunned silence._

"_Oliver?" Diggle asked, stunned. "You're that vigilante." He deduced, and then took a sloppy swing at the man. Oliver easily sidestepped the punch and Diggle ran into the table._

"_Easy, Dig." He said calmly. "You were poisoned."_

"_Son of a bitch." Diggle groaned, throwing another punch. Oliver caught the man and leaned him back up against the other table. Diggle groaned and glared at the other man._

"_Come on." Oliver started. "I could have taken you anywhere, could have taken you home." He gestured around. "I brought you here."_

"_You really did lose your mind on that island." Diggle observed._

"_Found a couple things along the way." Oliver replied._

_Diggle scoffed. "Like what, archery classes?"_

Thea snorted in amusement.

"_Clarity." He stated, taking a step closer to Digg. "Starling City is dying. It is being poisoned, by a criminal elite who don't care who they hurt, as long as they maintain their wealth and power." He espoused. _

"_What are you gonna do, take 'em all down by your lonesome?" Diggle asked scathingly._

"_No." Oliver shook his head. "Now, I want you to join me." _

"Dear god, tell me he didn't just use the Darth Vader recruitment method." Felicity said, her mouth agape.

"Come to the Dark Side, we have cookies?" Thea replied, causing both girls to giggle.

"That really is lame." Laurel agreed.

_Diggle scoffed, but Oliver continued. "Special Forces out of Kandahar. It's perfect." He looked at Diggle. "You're a fellow soldier." He stated._

Diggle shook his head. "I'm not going to see him as a soldier." He noted.

_Digg shook his head. "Oliver, you're not a soldier." He said. "You're a criminal. And a murderer." He spat, staggering out of the lair as Oliver sighed._

"That was kind of harsh." Tommy complained. "Okay, so I'm not down on the killing. But he is trying to do good."

"Keep in mind, son, that our opinions of him and his methods are now colored by information that our past selves wouldn't have." Malcolm said.

"Past selves, or future selves?" Tommy asked, then shook his head. "I hate time travel."

_The scene changed to Queen Manor, later that night. Oliver, back in his suit and tie, walked in and wearily started making his way up the stairs when a voice stopped him in his tracks._

"_Where were you?"_

_Oliver turned around to see Laurel at the bottom of the stairs he sighed. "What are you doing here?" he asked tiredly._

"Good question." Quentin said.

"_I heard about the shooting, and I wanted to make sure you were ok." She explained._

"_You did?"_

"_Yeah." Laurel looked at him sternly. "I knocked on the door, and I found a family terrified for you." Oliver sighed and laid his head against the post. "They had no idea where you were."_

"_Oh." He said simply. He had been so caught up in the moment that he had honestly forgot about calling them so they knew he was alright._

"_Oliver, are you so self-centered that you don't think that people who care about you are gonna wonder where you are after you all got shot at?" Laurel started, but Oliver cut her off._

"_You're right." He said simply._

_Laurel stepped in closer. "I made peace with your selfishness a long time ago, but Moira, Thea, and Walter, they don't deserve that." She said simply. "They deserve better, someone who doesn't care only about himself." With that, she walked past him towards the front door._

"_Laurel," Oliver started, struggling to find something to say. Finally, he settled on, "Thank you for coming."_

"_I care about the lives of other people, Oliver." She replied. "Maybe you should try it sometime." With that, she walked out of the house._

Laurel winced. "Ouch."

"Laying it on kind of thick, aren't ya?" Thea asked sarcastically.

"Moderation." Tommy advised. "Moderation is the key."

_Oliver threw his head back and sighed. "Oh, man." He muttered tiredly._

"_That was harsh." Thea walked up behind him, putting a hand on his shoulder. "You ok?" she asked simply._

"_Sure." Oliver replied. "Second time tonight that a friend of mine has taken me to the woodshed. Kind of tires you out."_

"_Yeah." Thea agreed. Oliver kissed her on the forehead._

"_Good night." He said, wearily walking up the stairs._

"_Good night." She called back._

_That night, Oliver once again dreamed of the Island._

_The scene flashed back to the cave. Oliver had pulled a photo of Laurel out of his wallet and was looking at it when Yao Fei came in, a bird in a hand-made bamboo cage. _

"I'd think it was sweet that he was carrying around a picture of me in his shirt, if I hadn't seen him wearing that shirt while in bed with my sister." Laurel said dryly. In the control room, Sara winced.

_He set the cage down in front of Oliver._

"_Shengcún." He said._

_Oliver looked between him and the bird, uncomprehending. "What am I supposed to do with that?" _

"_Shengcún." Yao Fei repeated._

"_Does that mean 'bird'?" Oliver guessed._

"_Shengcún!"_

"_I don't speak Chinese!" he yelled back, frustrated. Yao Fei went back to his work, and Oliver returned to starring at the picture. "I'm sorry, Laurel. I'm so sorry."_

Laurel's eyes softened at that.

Tommy looked over at his father. "Okay, dad. You know Chinese, what did," he gestured vaguely at the screen, "that mean?"

"It means 'Survive'." He replied. "I do believe this Asian fellow is giving Oliver his first lesson of survival on the island. And I'm sure we'll all see the lesson play out." He finished, sinking back into his chair.

_Back in the present, Oliver shot awake, breathing hard. Giving up sleep, he threw on a robe and headed downstairs, thinking to watch some TV. He was surprised to find that Thea beat him to it; she was sitting on the couch in her own robe, munching on chips. A news report played on the TV._

'_There were no signs of forced entry or any evidence of a struggle, but, hours later, the police found that the bloodstained kitchen knife in the trunk…'_

_Thea noticed him. "Couldn't sleep, either?" she asked. Oliver shook his head and sat next to her._

"_No." he looked at the TV. "What are you watching?" he asked._

"_Peter Declan." She said simply._

"Monster." Malcolm spat, surprising a few in the room.

"_Hmm?" he said, confused._

"_The guy who killed his wife." She saw the uncomprehending look on his face. "Right. This guy killed his wife in their baby's room." She explained, leaning back into the couch. "Psycho."_

_Oliver looked at the TV, where Declan was talking to a reporter in prison. 'Camille was everything to me.' He was saying. 'I couldn't kill her any more than I could kill myself.'_

"_So why can't you sleep?" Thea asked Oliver, pausing the TV._

"_Bad dreams." He said._

"_About?"_

"_Laurel." Oliver sighed._

"_So why don't you make a play?" Thea asked with a small smiled. "I mean, she did come over here just to make sure you didn't get shot."_

Laurel gave Thea an amused look. "Seriously?"

Thea shrugged. "Why not?"

"_There are reasons." Oliver said. Thea gave him a look._

"_Mm, what are they?" she asked dryly, before listing several. "Besides you sleeping with her sister and her sister dying and her father hating your guts and you basically being a jerk to everybody since you've been back?"_

_Oliver nodded. "Those are the top ones." Thea bit back a smile. "I know that it might not seem like it sometimes, but I'm not the same person I used to be." Oliver tried to explain._

"_So show her." Thea replied. "Be yourself. I mean your new self." Oliver looked at his sister, considering her words._

Quentin gave the girl a pained look. "Please don't give them any help." He pleaded. Thea snickered.

_The scene changed to the next day. Oliver came downstairs and walked in to the sitting room, where Moira was sitting, reading the paper. In the back was a tall, white man in a suit that brought him up short._

"_How did you sleep?" Moira asked, not looking up from her paper._

"_Just fine, thank you." He said pleasantly. He looked to the new man. "We have a visitor."_

"_Hmm." Moira hummed. "Mr. Diggle's replacement."_

"_Replacement?" a chill went down his spine._

"_Yes." Moira said. "He tendered his resignation this morning."_

"_Did he say why?" Oliver asked, trying to stay cool. Moira finally put the paper down. "He said he didn't approve of the way you spend your evenings, particularly given that they always begin with you ditching him."_

_Oliver silently breathed a sigh of relief. He walked up to the man and smiled, extending his hand._

"_Hi."_

"_Mr. Queen, Rob Scott." Rob introduced himself, shaking Oliver's hand. "I'll be your new body man."_

"_That's a firm grip you got there, Rob." Oliver said jovially._

"_That's 5 years SWAT with Monument Point M.C.U." he explained. Oliver nodded sagely._

"_I feel safer already."_

"How long 'till he ditches him?" Thea wondered aloud.

"Within the first hour." Moira predicted.

"I'd say within the first ten minutes." Diggle observed wryly.

Moira gave him a wry smile. "Well, you do seem to have experience in that field…"

"_Ah, thank God we don't have to hear about this awful man anymore." Moira said, drawing Oliver's attention. He looked back at the TV, where Declan was once again the focus of the news._

'_Declan's execution is set for midnight 2 days from now.' The news anchor was saying. 'Camille Declan's former employer, Jason Brodeur, released a statement saying, quote, 'I hope this gives Camille the peace she deserves.''_

_"Jason Brodeur?" Oliver remarked to himself._

"_What?" Moira asked, looking up at Oliver._

"_The dead wife worked for Jason Brodeur." Oliver said._

"_Apparently so." Moira looked at Olive curiously. "What- why?"_

"He's on the list." Malcolm said, a realization washing over him. "Oh…."

"What?" Tommy demanded.

"I think I may have jumped to the wrong conclusion." Was all he said, his attention returning to the screen.

"_No reason." Oliver said lightly, and then turned to his new body man. "Say, Rob, I want to go into town. Could you please get the car for me?"_

"_No offense, Mr. Queen, but I have been filled in on your tendency to slip the leash." Rob said. "If it's all the same to you, I'd prefer keeping you in my sights at all times."_

"_We're 20 miles from the city." Oliver pointed out reasonably. "If you don't drive me, how else am I gonna get there?" He looked at the man. "Right?" Rob nodded awkwardly and left to get the car. Oliver looked down at his mother. "I like him." He remarked._

_Outside a few minutes later, Rob was standing by the Bentley. Suddenly, Oliver roared past him on his motorcycle. He gave a wave to Rob, who unthinkingly returned it. "Hey!" he shouted in vain._

"Told you." Diggle said with a satisfied smile.

_The scene shifted to the Foundry, where Oliver was researching the Declan case. 'They say Peter Declan murdered his wife in cold blood.' Oliver's voice said as he looked over various reports on his computer. 'He had no alibi, and all the evidence pointed toward him. He was tried, convicted, and sentenced to death, an open-and-shut case, except for one thing.' He pulled out the notebook and looked through it briefly, finally stopping when he found what he was looking for- Jason Brodeur's name. 'Declan's wife Camille worked for Jason Brodeur. And Jason Brodeur is on the list.' _

_At an undisclosed location, a well-dressed man was reading about Declan's upcoming execution. He looked up from his paper. "Mr. Brodeur." He said respectfully._

"_Admiring your handiwork?" Brodeur asked the man, a smile on his face._

"_You should have just let me kill both of 'em."_

It clicked suddenly for Tommy. "Brodeur had Declan's wife killed, then framed him for it."

"My associate will have to have words with Mr. Brodeur when we return." Malcolm said darkly.

"_Peter Declan is worth more alive." Brodeur argued. "'Husband kills wife' is a much better headline than 'whistle-blower uncovers toxic dumping,' don't you think?" He sighed happily. "Either way, 48 hours, all this'll be over."_

"Don't bother calling your associate," Laurel told Malcolm. "Because I'm going to nail his ass to the wall."

"I'll help." Quentin said. He hated the thought that his department had been played by a rich scum-bag like Brodeur.

_Back at the Foundry, Oliver was making new arrows._

'_The odds are good that Brodeur is involved in this woman's murder, which means an innocent man is facing execution.' Oliver sat back at his desk, pulling out his worn photograph of Laurel. He looked up, thinking. 'He'll need a good attorney.'_

"Oh, crap." Quentin muttered.

_The scene changed to CNRI, where Laurel was busy gathering papers. Joanna walked over to her. _

"_So I take it there's absolutely no point in asking if you'd like to grab a drink?" she asked._

"_I can't." Laurel said, closing out her computer. "I have to go over transcripts for the Fernands case."_

"_You know, if you go somewhere that's not work or your home, your odds of meeting someone increase by, like, a gazillion percent." Joanna noted._

"_Oh, that's not true. I could still get mugged on the way home." Laurel argued, throwing her bag on her shoulder._

"_In that case, I hope he's cute and single."_

"Cute, single, and a little crazy." Thea predicted.

"_Good night, Joanna." Laurel said as she walked out of the building._

_Laurel made her way back to her apartment without incident. As she entered, she went to turn the light on-_

_But nothing happened. _

_She flicked the switch a couple more times, but the light stayed off. She glanced up at the light in confusion, and then cautiously made her way further into her apartment. _

"Don't you watch horror movies?" Tommy asked. "You never go in to the dark, spooky place! For all you know, some nutjob wearing a Freddy glove could pop out and gut you!"

"Or a whack-job with a bow and arrow." Quentin added, ignoring the dirty looks Thea and Moira sent his way."

_She looked into her living room, and saw the curtain blowing from the wind coming through an open window. Panicked, but controlled, Laurel opened the lower drawer of her desk and pulled out a handgun. She pulled back the slide to chamber a round. _

"Said nutjob would get a bullet before that happened." Laurel said pointedly, hiding a shudder. Laurel hated Freddy Krueger.

_Suddenly she felt someone behind her. She spun, pointing her gun at the intruder._

_Across from her, The Hood stood. Unseen to her, he clicked on a voice modulator he held in his hand._

"_Hello, Laurel." He said._

"_Don't move!" Laurel shouted, holding the gun steady on The Hood._

"_I'm not gonna hurt you." Oliver said holding out his bow and switching it over to his non-dominate hand. He started to slowly walk towards her._

"_Stay back." Laurel said, gun held steady. "My father's a cop. You are making a huge mistake."_

"Is it wrong that I want you to shoot him?" Quentin asked.

"YES!" Thea, Moira, Laurel, Tommy, Diggle, and Felicity all said. Malcolm glanced over at Slade, who shrugged his shoulders in reply.

"_I'm not the person you think I am," Oliver started, "and I need your help. Peter Declan is gonna be executed in 48 hours. I think he's innocent." He explained. "Declan's wife was gonna blow the whistle on Jason Brodeur. Brodeur had her murdered." He was now an arm's length from the woman._

"_There are a thousand lawyers in Starling City." She reasoned. "Why me?"_

_Oliver gently reached out and pushed the gun down to point at the floor. Laurel didn't resist._

"_We're both trying to help." Oliver said._

"_What makes you sure I'm gonna help you?" she asked. Oliver walked behind her._

"_Because I know you'd do anything to save the life of an innocent man." The Hood stated truthfully. Laurel thought for a moment, and then turned around- but the Hood was gone._

"He needs a mask." Tommy said suddenly. "The grease paint won't work forever, and sooner or later someone he knows is going to get a good look at his face.

"Good point." Slade agreed.

_The scene changed to the next morning, where Laurel was visiting Declan in Iron Heights Penitentiary._

"_A jury has charged you as guilty, Mr. Declan." She remarked calmly, staring at the man._

"_The evidence was stacked against me, but I didn't kill my wife." He asserted, sliding a photo of is baby daughter to the lawyer. "I didn't take my daughter's mother from her."_

_Laurel looked at the picture for a few moments, then looked back up at Declan. "The murder weapon was a knife from __**your**__ kitchen with __**your**__ prints on it." She said. "It was found, along with Camille's blood, in the trunk of __**your**__ car. Your neighbors said they heard an argument that night." She pressed on. Declan stood and began to pace._

"_We had a knockdown fight over Jason Brodeur." He said finally, looking at Laurel. "Camille worked for him, and his company had been dumping toxic waste into The Glades. Now, Camille told me that she'd gone and told a supervisor about it." He took a breath. "I was afraid for my family's safety. And we argued very loudly, yes. Izzy started crying, so Camille went and stayed in her room." He dropped back into his seat wearily. "In the morning, I went to apologize, and that's when I found her. So I just grabbed Izzy, and I ran outside, and I called 911." Laurel leaned forward. "I'm innocent, Ms. Lance." He reasserted, and Laurel believed him._

_The scene changed to Queen Consolidated, where Moira was walking into Walter's office._

"_Well, it looks like someone forgot a lunch date with his wife." She said lightly. Walter looked up at her, his eye glasses perched on the end of his nose._

"_What do you mean?" he asked, confused "Lunch isn't for another-" he looked at his watch and blanched slightly. He pulled off his glasses. "I'm so sorry."_

"_It's all right." Moira laughed lightly. "The restaurant is holding our table." She watched as Walter hurriedly straightened up his desk to leave. "Is there something wrong?"_

"_Compliance department has tagged something, $2.6 million withdrawal from one of our Vancouver subsidiaries." He stated._

_A flicker of panic flitted across Moira's face, but she schooled her features before Walter even had a chance to notice. With forced casualness she asked "What-you mean- are you saying that someone embezzled $2.6 million from the company?"_

Thea looked at her mother suspiciously. "Are you embezzling $2.6 million from the company?" she asked. Moira said nothing in reply.

"_Well, it's probably a bookkeeping error, but compliance is understandably worried about an IRS audit." Walter hurriedly grabbed his jacket from a nearby chair. Mistaking his wife's worry, he smiled. "But don't worry. I'm sure it's nothing." He assured her, holding out his arm. "Come on. We're gonna be late. I mean, later!" Moira smiled and took his arm, walking with him out of the office._

_The scene changed to the SCPD, where Laurel was perched on Quentin's desk, staring at his board. Front and center was the sketch of The Hood._

"_Well, I wasn't the lead on this," Quentin said, coming back into the squad room carrying the Declan case file, "but from what I recall, we had fingerprints. We had blood. We got motive, everything." He told his daughter, sitting next to her on the desk's edge._

"_Brodeur seems like the type of guy with resources needed to frame someone." Laurel noted. Quentin looked at his daughter._

"_Laurel, in 24 hours, Peter Declan is lying down with a needle in his arm, and he's not getting up." He stated. "If I thought for a second we didn't have the right guy, do you think there's anything else I'd be doing right now except trying to get at what really happened?"_

_Laurel took the file and looked through it. "Declan said his wife went to her supervisor with allegations that Brodeur was dumping toxic waste." Laurel put in. _

"_Yeah, but that supervisor, he said that never happened." He noted. Quentin took back the file and flipped it. "Let me see. What was his name?" he flipped a couple of pages, then pointed. "Here you go. Istook, Matt Istook. He said he didn't even see Camille that day." He looked back at Laurel. "Happy now?" _

_Laurel clapped him on the leg. "Yes." She said, getting up._

"No you're not." Quentin said, eyeing his daughter proudly.

"No, I'm not." She agreed.

_As she started to leave, Quentin called after her. "You know, I thought it'd be a cold day in hell before you started defending criminals." He said. Laurel turned to him and gave him a tight, lawyer smile._

"_I'm not so sure Declan's a criminal." She replied. "Like you said, he's on a clock. Can't leave any stone unturned." With that, she left. Quentin sighed._

"_Oh, yeah." He muttered, getting back to work._

_The scene changed to Big Belly Burger, where Carly was delivering food to Digg. He was seated in a booth, his left arm in a sling._

"_So when are you gonna tell me?" she asked._

"_Hmm?" Digg hummed, not paying attention._

"_About what happened to your arm?" She nodded at the sling. Digg looked up in surprise, then plastered on a confident smile_

"_Oh, it's my shoulder, and it's…its fine." He lied._

_Carly scoffed. "I knew that Queen guy was trouble." She noted._

"_Hey, I never said this happened protecting Queen." Diggle replied._

"_Oh, yeah?" she asked, looking up at the entrance. "Then what's he doing here?"_

_Diggle looked around in surprise to see Oliver walking in, followed closely by Rob._

"_Area is secure, sir." Rob said._

"Wow, what a tremendous tool." Thea said.

"He's just… dedicated to his job." Diggle defended lamely. The look Thea gave him told him she didn't buy that any more than he did.

"_Thank you very much, Rob." Oliver replied dryly. He walked towards Diggle's booth. "Hello, Diggle's sister-in-law Carly." He said jovially, extending his hand. "I'm Oliver Queen."_

_Carly took it and gave him a curt shake. "I know who you are." She replied, unsmiling._

"_No, you really don't." Digg put in. Oliver sat down and Carly walked off._

"_Hello." He started. "I couldn't help but notice a distinct lack of police cars when I got home. I knew you wouldn't drop a dime on me. So have you considered my offer?"_

"They're fresh-baked, you know." Felicity joked. Tommy giggled.

Thea looked at Tommy in astonishment. "Did you just **giggle?**"

Tommy shrugged. "Maybe."

"_Offer? Digg scoffed. "That's one hell of a way to put it."_

"_It is an offer. It's a chance to do the kind of good that compelled you to join the military." He tried._

"_Please." Digg shot back. "You were born with a platinum spoon in your mouth, Queen. What, you spent 5 years on an island with no room service, and suddenly you found religion?" he scoffed again, shaking his head._

_Oliver pulled out the small notebook and placed it on the table. "This was my father's." he said, as Diggle gave the book a cursory look. "I found it when I buried him."_

_Digg looked up. "I thought you said your father died when the boat went down."_

"_We both made it to a life raft, but there wasn't enough food and water for both of us, so he shot himself in the head." He explained to a shocked Diggle. "And as much as he was doing it to give me a chance to survive, I believe that he was also atoning for his sins. I need to right the wrongs done by my family," he pleaded quietly, "and I'm offering you the chance to right the wrongs done to yours."_

_Digg leaned forward. "Oliver, what are you talking about?"_

"_The police never caught your brother's shooter." Oliver started, but Digg cut him off angrily._

"_Hey, you leave Andy out of this."_

"_The bullets were laced with curare." Oliver continued. "That's Floyd Lawton's M.O. He is the sniper that I stopped." He finished, looking Digg in the eye._

"_Are you trying to tell me that you took down Andy's killer?" he asked, disbelievingly._

"_I'm…I'm giving you the chance, a chance to help other people's families." Oliver replied. He looked at the body guard earnestly. "Do you remember when the people in this city helped each other? They can't do that anymore, because a group of people- people like my father- they see nothing wrong with raising themselves up by stepping on other people's throats." Digg sat back, considering his words. "It does need to stop, and if it's not gonna be the courts and it's not gonna be the cops, then it's gonna be me." He stood, taking the notebook. He looked at Diggle. "And, I hope, you." He finished._

"I think you _will_ accept his offer." Malcolm remarked thoughtfully.

"Why?" Dig asked. "Besides the obvious reason that I'm here now?"

Malcolm gave the man a calculated look. "Because, Mr. Diggle. You agree with him on a base level. And, you probably believe that you can be something that the Oliver of that time is clearly lacking- a conscience."

Diggle's eyebrows rose that that. Moira looked over at Malcolm, offended.

"How can **you** say that?" she demanded. "He's trying to clean up the mess that you- that we've," she corrected, "made. Even now he's trying to get an innocent man out of prison! And you say that he doesn't have a conscience?!"

"What he has, Moira, is a mission." Malcolm stated calmly. "He believes he needs to atone for his father's sins, and he's willing to do that- by any means necessary." He leaned forward. "He's cleaning up our mess using deadly force- a tactic I happen to agree with, but even I know there were times where he could have held back just a little and still achieved his objectives. You say he's trying to get an innocent man out of prison?" Malcolm shook his head. "No. Peter Declan just happened to be framed by a man whose name was on the list, nothing more. If Brodeur wasn't named on the list, than Oliver would have watched as Declan was executed as impassively as the rest of us."

Malcolm sat back. "I recognize Oliver for what he is because, once upon a time, I believed I could save our city much like he's doing. But he's beginning to realize something- he can't do it alone. And so he'll draw more people into his orbit. And those people will make him question himself and second-guess his methods. They will be his conscience as he slowly regains his own. And Mr. Diggle is starting to realize it." He looked up to the bodyguard, who nodded grudgingly in reply.

They all took a moment to consider Malcolm's words, the Felicity un-paused the memory file.

_Rob walked over to Oliver, who stopped him with a raised hand. "I'm gonna go to the washroom, Rob." He said, then turned and headed to the restrooms. Rob took up position next to Diggle, who was mulling over his words. After a few moments, Digg looked up at the hapless bodyguard._

"_Oh, that boy's long gone, man." He said. Rob looked up in consternation._

Despite the serious conversation of moments before, the whole room laughed at that.

_The scene changed to later that night at Queen Manor, where Walter was busy working on his laptop._

"_You still following the money trail?" Moira asked, coming into the room_

"_Mm-hmm." Walter said absently._

"_Don't we have accountants for that sort of thing?"_

"_They're being singularly ineffective in this instance." Walter noted sourly. _

"Probably because Mom is making them be ineffective." Thea noted sourly.

"_Well, then it's fortunate that I've solved the mystery." Moira said with a guilty smile. "I think I'm the culprit." Walter looked up in confusion. Moira perched herself on the edge of the opposite couch and continued. "$2.6 million is a rather specific figure. That's the exact amount the company invested in a friend's start-up venture 3 years ago." Walter chuckled, and Moira smiled. "I will call accounting. They'll clean it all up." She announced. "Then there's nothing to worry about."_

"_Ok." Walter said, smiling back at his wife. Moira turned and left the room, and Walter sat back into the couch, his smile fading to a look of concern._

Moira sighed. "Oh, Walter…"

Malcolm's eyes narrowed. He had an idea where that money had gone.

_The scene changed to CNRI. Joanna walked up to Laurel, who had her nose buried in a file. "You really are putting a lot of hours into this Declan thing." She noted. "You actually think he's innocent."_

"_Someone does." Laurel replied absently._

"_So you said, but you didn't say who." Laurel looked around, then came up close to Joanna._

"_The guardian angel." She whispered. Joanna's face lit up in comprehension._

"_The guy in the hood?" she exclaimed quietly. "Look, you're- you're kidding…"_

"_He tracked me down and asked me to look into the Declan case." Laurel confided._

"_But you've met him?" Joanna interrupted._

"_But he goes against everything that I was ever taught to believe in." Laurel said. "He breaks the law and God knows what else."_

"Breaks the law, breaks my heart… and the list goes on." Laurel quipped.

"_How are you not afraid that he is gonna do God knows what to you?" her friend demanded. Laurel shook her head._

"_He won't." she said confidently. "I don't know. I can feel it."_

"Well, you've certainly felt him before." Thea said dryly, causing Laurel to blush and Quentin to groan.

"_You know, when I told you to meet someone, this is far, far away from what I meant." Joanna remarked. Laurel just shrugged her shoulders._

_The scene changed to a rooftop later that night, where Laurel stood across from The Hood._

"_I got your message." She called across the room. "Is there a reason we can't do this face to face?"_

"Because he's too lazy to wear a mask?" Felicity said.

"At least he's using a voice changer." Tommy noted.

"_You've met with Peter Declan." He ignored her question._

"_You were right." She said, walking closer to him. He stubbornly kept his face out of direct view. "He might be innocent. Declan said his wife blew the whistle on Brodeur the day she was murdered."_

_Oliver paced past Laurel, keeping his face as concealed as possible. "Then we need to get whoever she told about Brodeur to testify." He determined._

"_He already has." Laurel replied. "Matt Istook, Camille's supervisor. Only, he says that she didn't say a word to him."_

"_He could be lying." Oliver said._

"_Well, if he is, then he's very convincing. He had the jury and police believing him."_

"_He hasn't been questioned by me." Oliver said harshly._

"_I didn't become a lawyer to break the law or hurt anybody." Laurel argued._

"_I do what's necessary, what people like Peter Declan need." Oliver stated plainly._

"_If what you're doing isn't wrong, then why are you hiding your face with a hood?" Laurel countered. _

"_To protect the ones I care about." The Hood replied softly._

"_That sounds lonely."_

"_It can be." He agreed, his tone hardening "But not today." With that, he shot an arrow at a neighboring building and jumped off the roof, swinging away on the line that had been attached as Laurel looked on in astonishment._

Tommy looked at Laurel, who was seemingly enraptured by the screen, and couldn't help feeling a swell of jealousy rise in his chest.

_The scene shifted to later that night at Queen Consolidated. The elevator opened on the empty executive floor, and Felicity stalked off and headed towards Walter's office. Without knocking, she barged in and confronted the man, who was sitting behind his desk._

"_I've got one question. Why am I being fired?" she demanded._

"_Ms. Smoak, isn't it?" he clarified._

"_Yes." She responded, and then pressed on. "And I am without a doubt the single most valuable member of your technical division. That's including my so-called 'supervisor'. Letting me go would be a major error for this company."_

Felicity's dropped her head in embarrassment.

"Direct, aren't you?" Thea asked with a smile.

"_I agree, which is why you're not being fired." Walter replied calmly, bringing Felicity up short. The righteous indignation died._

"_Uh, I assumed when you brought me up here, it was because-" she drew her thumb across her throat, miming her throat being slit._

"You needn't have worried about that. Walter doesn't fire people personally." Moira said, amused.

"Well, that's good to know." Felicity replied.

"_It's because I wanted you to look into something for me." Walter said, handing Felicity a folder. She took it at once. "A variance of $2.6 million on a failed investment from 3 years ago. It was authorized by my wife. I was hoping you could find out some of the details of the transaction for me."_

"_Find out…" Felicity looked up from the folder at Walter. _

"_Dig up discreetly." He said, giving her a look. _

Moira sighed in frustration.

_Felicity smiled. "I'm your girl." She said, turning to leave. She paused on the way out and turned back to Walter. "I mean, I'm not your girl. I wasn't making a pass at you." She clarified. Walter gave her a thin smile. "Thank you for not firing me." She said as she walked out the door. Walter leaned back in his chair, a look on his face that screamed 'What an odd girl'._

"You're different than other people." Tommy noted to Felicity, who just blushed in reply.

_The scene changed to a parking lot, as Matt Istook turned off the alarm for his Porsche 911. He put his bag in the passenger seat and opened the door to get in, when he felt a sudden sting at the back of his neck. He reached back, and pulled free a dart. He looked at it, uncomprehending. "What the…" he started, before the tranquilizer took effect and he passed out._

_When he awoke, he was laying on a set of railroad tracks. Blearily he started to sit up, reaching up to rub his face. His arm jerked to a stop and he stared, seeing the handcuff that chained him to the rail._

"_Matt Istook."_

_He looked up in alarm to see The Hood standing there, bow in hand, his face hidden in the shadow of his hood._

"_You're him, that hood guy." He observed. "You're the guy that's been terrorizing the city."_

"_Peter Declan, your lies helped put him on death row." He snarled. A train whistle sounded in the near distance. "Now, either it's time to tell me the truth, or it's time for the 10:15 to Blüdhaven."_

"_O-ok. Ok, I—" he stuttered, seeing the train closing in on them far behind the Hood. "Brodeur paid me to…to say that Camille never spoke to me, but I didn't have anything to do with her death." The train grew closer. "Oh, God, please. I'll do anything." He pleaded. "Y-you could have the file!"_

"_What file?" The Hood demanded._

"_Camille gave me a file of evidence against Jason Brodeur." The train grew larger behind the Hood._

"_Where is it?!" The hood demanded._

"_Let me go, and I'll tell you!" Istook pleaded. The Hood ignored his pleas and walked past him, leaving him to the approaching train. "Wait! Wait! Wait! Wait! Don't go! It's in my desk! The file, it's in my desk at the office! You can have it!" The train was mere feet in front of him. "Get me out of here!" Suddenly an arrow broke the cuff, and Istook threw himself to the side off the tracks, just as the train whizzed by._

Thea shuddered at the casual cruelty Oliver displayed, and thought more about what Malcolm had said. 'Maybe I could be his conscience.' She thought.

_Oliver watched the sobbing man through the passing train cars, and remembered when he once begged._

_The scene flashed back to Lian Yu. In the cave, Yao Fei was cooking a rat on a stick. Oliver, near delirious with hunger, took notice._

"_What is that?" he asked wearily, crawling over to the man who sat stoically in front of the fire. "I'm so hungry. It smells really good." He reached a hand out towards the cooking rat-_

_And Yao Fei's hand suddenly lashed out, grabbing and twisting Oliver's hand away. With a shove he sent the boy crashing to the floor of the cave._

"_Aah!" Oliver exclaimed, more in surprise than in pain. "Hey, fine. Don't share."_

_Yao Fei grunted. He looked at the boy, then pointed to the bird. He mimed ringing the bird's neck. "Shengcún." He repeated._

_Oliver looked at the bird, then back at Yao Fei. "I'm not gonna kill the bird." He said, indignant._

"You will if you want to eat." Slade growled.

_The Asian man just stared back, and popped a bit of cooked rat into his mouth. "Shengcún." He said once more._

_Back in the present, Laurel was working late at CNRI. Alone in the office, she was startled when the lights suddenly went out. She glanced around nervously, and then jumped slightly when a file folder landed on her desk. Tentatively, she picked it up and gave it a cursory look._

_"Compliments of Matt Istook." The Hood said from across the room._

"How does he do that?" Quentin asked once again.

"_What's in here?" she asked._

"_Leverage on Jason Brodeur, enough to help save Peter Declan's life." _

_Laurel looked through the file. "As an attorney, I never would have gotten a file like this." She looked up at The Hood. "I always thought the law was sacred, I-it fixed everything." She explained._

"_And now, Laurel?" he asked. "Now what do you think?"_

"_I think there are too many people in this city who only care about themselves… people who are selfish. I think they need someone who cares about the lives of other people someone like you." She looked back down at the file to study it some more. Suddenly the lights came back on, and she looked up to see The Hood had vanished._

_The scene shifted back to Queen Manor, where Oliver came in. He was smiling, observing the pictures on the small table by the door._

"_Oh, my God." A familiar voice said. He looked up to see Thea standing there. "__What is wrong with your face?" she asked._

"_What do you mean?" Oliver replied, worried that some of the grease paint was still over his eyes. Her next words dispelled his fears and caused a broad grin to break out on his face_

"_There's something really weird on it, like this thing with your mouth." She said, grinning herself. "It…it looks like it's in the shape of a smile." She teased._

Tommy snorted in amusement.

"_That's cute." He said._

"_So why are you grinning?" Thea asked._

"_I took your advice with Laurel to be myself." He said simply. "And it's helping."_

"It'd help even more if she knew it was you." Laurel noted grumpily, much to Tommy's dismay.

_Thea grinned triumphantly. "Got mad relationship skills, bro." she said. "Let me know if you need trendy places to propose."_

"_I think you're getting a little bit ahead of yourself." He said. She looked at him slyly, and he held up his thumb and forefinger, pinching them together. "Little bit."_

_The front door burst opened, and Rob strolled in wearily, his jacket over his arm and a defeated expression on his face. "Rob." Oliver smiled. "You gotta keep up." He said, heading for his room, leaving the broken man behind._

"Does anybody else feel the tinniest bit sorry for Rob?" Thea asked. Everyone in the room nodded in agreement.

_The scene shifted to the next day at CNRI. Quentin Lance hurriedly walked in, heading straight for Laurel, who was busily typing away. "Hey, you look busy." He stated. "Is that the Declan case? You know, it was a funny development on that. Matt Istook." He noted, "He, uh, filed a police report. He said The Hood harassed him last night." He looked at Laurel. "And that's funny, because I gave my daughter Istook's name."_

"Busted." Tommy said, grinning at Laurel who rolled her eyes in reply.

"_Dad-" she started, but Quentin cut her off. "He's a vigilante." He snarled. "He's a damn criminal, and you working with him, that makes you an accessory!"_

"_I am trying to save an innocent man's life." Laurel argued._

"_No. You're breaking the law."_

"Why not both?" Thea asked.

Tommy looked at the girl. "You're on a roll tonight, Speedy!" he teased.

Thea shrugged. "It's been a while since I've been up this long without chemical intervention." She admitted. At the looks she received, Thea scoffed. "Nothing you didn't already find out, so stop looking all shocked and angry."

"_Well, I wouldn't have to if the police would have done their job right in the first place." She shot back. Quentin looked stricken._

"Ouch." Tommy said.

"_I asked you how you got this case." He started. "You lied to me straight to my face, eh? I thought you and I didn't do that." He gave her one last look. "Guess I was wrong." he finished, turning and walking out of the building._

_The scene shifted to the courthouse, where Laurel was arguing her case before Judge Moss._

"_The mere existence of the file proves that Mr. Istook perjured himself for Jason Brodeur's benefit." She was arguing._

"_That's slander." A voice cut her off. She turned to see Brodeur, with his lawyer and two bodyguards, walk in the room. "Jared Swanstrom, Your Honor." The man who spoke said. "I represent Jason Brodeur and Brodeur Chemical."_

"_The interest of justice requires you to stay the defendant's execution pending exploration of the newly discovered evidence." Laurel continued, ignoring the new people in the room._

_Judge Moss looked at Laurel evenly. "Ours isn't a court of justice, Ms. Lance." She stated. "It's a court of law, and under the law, I don't think your evidence is sufficient to warrant a stay of execution. Your motion for habeas corpus is denied." She finished, returning to her paperwork. Laurel turned and walked out. Before she left, though, she stopped in front of Brodeur._

"If I'm not mistaken, Brodeur was a leading contributor to Judge Moss' re-election campaign." Malcolm said darkly.

"_This isn't over." She said defiantly. "I've got the loose end now, and no matter what happens, I am going to pull on it until your whole world unravels." She threatened, walking out and leaving a very worried Brodeur behind._

_The scene changed to Brodeur's office later that day, where the businessman was worriedly ranting to his bodyguard. "Declan's lawyer's pulling me into this!" he exclaimed. "I'm gonna go to prison, if not for murder, then this- this dumping thing."_

"_That won't happen." The bodyguard assured him. "There are steps we can take."_

"_You saw her." He argued. "She's going after me."_

_The bodyguard sighed. "She's gonna want to meet with her client after what happened in court today. We have friends up in Iron Heights. Prison can be a dangerous place." He remarked calmly._

Quentin sighed helplessly and looked at his daughter. "Why do you keep putting yourself in danger like this!" he exclaimed.

Laurel rolled her eyes, annoyed. "Well, I would ask for police protection if I wasn't sure my father would probably throw me in jail first!"

They both looked away from one another, annoyed.

_The scene changed to later that night, where Laurel was meeting with the Hood on the roof of CNRI._

"_We're not done yet." The Hood stated._

"_I'm an attorney." Laurel countered with a sigh. "Trust me. We're done."_

"_What do you need to free Peter Declan?" he asked._

"_At this point, nothing short of a signed confession from Brodeur." The Hood turned to leave. "Where are you going?" she asked._

"_To get a confession." He replied._

_The scene changed to Queen Consolidated, where Felicity was filling Walter in on what she found._

"_The company Mrs. Queen- or Steele." She paused, a stray thought catching her attention, "Mrs. Queen-Steele. Does she hyphenate? She seems like a woman who would hyphenate." Walter cleared his throat and sat back at his desk, looking at her expectantly. "Right. The company she invested in doesn't exist."_

"_I don't understand." Walter said, confused._

"_There was no investment." Felicity explained. "The money was used to set up an offshore LLC called Tempest." _

"_I don't recall that name being under the Queen Consolidated banner." He remarked._

"_'Cause it's not." She replied. "There's nothing registered with the Secretary of State, no federal tax records, no patent applications filed. But in 2009, Tempest purchased a warehouse in Starling City." She handed the folder to Walter, who smiled in gratitude. Felicity smiled and left as Walter looked over the file._

Moira sighed. "You are very good, Ms. Smoake." She told the girl, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Thanks?" she replied uncertainly. "I would also like to point out that my boss asked me to do something, which I did. So there really is no reason to fire me…."

Moira gave her a tired smile. "I'm not going to fire you, so don't worry."

"Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer?" Malcolm said lightly.

Moira shot him a look. "Why do you think I've kept you so close all these years?" she asked bitingly.

_The scene changed to Big Belly Burger, where Diggle was once again eating. Carly came up to him._

"_Enough moping." She stated. Diggle smiled at her as she took a seat across from him. "You quit. It's done. My advice would be to move on."_

"_Well, if it were only that easy." Dig said, rubbing his face._

"_Except it is." Carly said. "Personal security is dangerous. Your nephew already lost his father. He can't lose his uncle, too."_

_Dig thought for a long moment. "Does it ever bother you," he began, "that they never caught the guy who killed Andy?" He paused, gathering his thoughts. "You know, when I was in Afghanistan, I had a job, and I did it. And when I could, I would help out the people there so that, in some small way, when I left, I could believe I left it a better place." He sighed. "But ever since I've been home, all I do is protect punks and spoiled one percenters."_

_Carly smiled. "Yeah."_

"_I miss feeling like I'm making a difference in the world." He announced, seeming to just come to the realization._

"_Then get out of personal security and go do something you believe in." Carly said._

"_Yeah, what if it's wrong?" he countered._

"_John, if you believe in something, how can it be wrong?" she asked simply._

"Welcome to the party, pal." Tommy joked.

_The scene changed to Brodeur's office, where the businessman was being held at arrow-point by The Hood._

"_What do you want?" he asked fearfully._

"_You're gonna confess that you arranged to have Peter Declan's wife murdered." The Hood growled._

"_What, so I can take his place in prison?"_

"_So you can avoid the death penalty."_

"_Except if I'm dead, well, then, you've got no one to pin Camille's murder on." Brodeur realized, confidence slowly returning. "You need me to exonerate Peter Declan. Maybe you could try to force me to sign a confession or something-" his boasting cut off with a scream as The Hood shot an arrow through his hand._

"_That might be difficult." The Hood remarked. _

"God help me, I'm starting to like the guy." Quentin muttered.

_Bordure was saved by the bell, literally, as his phone began to ring. The Hood walked over and pulled the phone out of his jacket. "Just answer it." He connected the call._

"_What?" Brodeur said, pain in his voice._

"_It's Ankov." His bodyguard said over the phone. "It's going down, one hour." The Hood snarled and hung up the phone._

"_What's going down in an hour?" he demanded. "What?!"_

"_Let's just say Peter Declan's execution, it's getting moved up." Brodeur replied. Oliver hit him with the bow, knocking him out._

_The scene changed to Iron Heights, where Laurel was talking with Declan. _

"_We still have a shot." Laurel was telling him. "Do you remember the friend that I mentioned, the one who believes in you? He is working on something."_

_Outside, The Hood put a guard in a sleeper hold, knocking him out. He then quickly stripped the guard and started to put on the uniform._

"What, is he gonna put the hood on over the uniform?" Thea wondered.

"_I told you, Jason Brodeur is powerful." Declan told Laurel._

_At a back door, a guard opened it to reveal Ankov, Brodeur's bodyguard. Ankov handed the guard an envelope and took a bundle of clothes from him. "Time to unlock the cages." He said._

"_I've been here before." Declan continued. "These lawyers holding out these little nuggets of hope."_

_And then the lights went out, alarms started blaring, and the shouting began as Declan and Laurel looked on helplessly. The guard in the room was listening to his radio._

'_Secure all corners in cell block "C".' he looked to Laurel. "The warden's setting up a secure perimeter in "C" block." He said. "Stay here, Ms. Lance." He ordered, leaving the room._

Laurel scoffed. "Like hell!"

"Well, THAT cop was probably paid off." Felicity noted. Quentin nodded in agreement, making not of his name to investigate when they got back.

"One good thing about this, I'll be cleaning house at Iron Heights." Quentin said.

"_Wait!" Laurel yelled. She looked out the door and saw prisoners running through the halls, jumping guards. Making a decision, she gestured to Declan and the two fled the visitors' room. They ran down a hall and landed in a juncture filled with prisoners. She watches as the beat a guard unconscious. One of the goons looked up._

"_There's Lance." He said, picking up the guards gun. Before he could point it at her, an arrow hit him in the shoulder, sending him to the ground. Laurel turned to see a disguised Hood, wearing a guards uniform with a ski mask, holding his bow._

"_Let's go."_

_He led them back into the hall, stopping briefly only to beat back some of the prisoners to give them room. "Go!" he called out, leading them down the hall. At the far end he saw cops with riot shields moving in formation towards them. He steered them to an open doorway. "In here." _

_The three entered the room, The Hood leading the way. Suddenly The Hood was sucker punched by Ankov, who sent him sprawling to the ground, dazed. Next the muscle grabbed Laurel, throwing her into a chain link fence that portioned the room, and then flung her back to the floor. She hit hard, dazed, and Ankov got on top of her, putting his hands around her throat. _

As Laurel watched her own attempted murder in stunned horror, Quentin put an arm around her shoulders, though his hands were clenched hard enough to draw blood.

_Oliver cleared his head and looked over. Seeing Laurel being choked, he saw red and launched himself at Ankov, tackling him off the lawyer. He started throwing elbows and forearms at the bodyguards face, not stopping, not letting up. Laurel shakily got to her feet and staggered over, placing a hand on his arm. "Stop!" she said hoarsely, Oliver shot up, backing away from her and slowly coming back to his senses. Before anything else could happen, though, the riot cops entered. Laurel immediately back to the wall. _

"_Laurel." He whispered brokenly as Declan and Ankov were secured. Then he faded into the background, mixing in among the other guards and making his way out of the prison._

_The scene changed to later outside the entrance to Iron Heights. Laurel was seated on the hood of a police car as Quentin ran up to her._

"_Laurel" he called out, breathless, pulling her into a hug, "Sweetie. What are you-" he started._

"_I'm all right." Laurel cut him off._

"_You sure?"_

"_I'm sorry about what I said to you." She said. Quentin sighed._

"_Yeah, well, you were right." He told her. "Ankov just confessed to Camille Declan's murder. We got the wrong guy." He finished sadly. The he looked at his daughter. "Now, listen to me, Laurel. I'm right, too, about him. He's dangerous. He's outside the law."_

"_I know." She said, surprising him. "He's a killer." From the roof of the prison, Oliver watched Laurel and Quentin talk. He pulled off the ski mask as she continued. "He would have killed that man. I looked in his eyes—it was like he had no remorse."_

Moira looked at Laurel coldly. "He also just saved your life." She said pointedly.

"Hey, back off." Quentin said. "She's obviously in shock.

"Yeah, Mom. Settle down." Thea added. She too had been shaken up by the brutality Oliver had shown, though she could contextualize it. 'If it had been me or Mom,' she thought, 'he wouldn't have stopped.'

_Oliver closed his eye in pain, and once more the scene flashed back to the cave._

_Oliver stared at the bird in the cage, and then looked back up at Yao Fei. "Hey, please." He pleaded. "I'm starving. I never killed anything before." The man continued to ignore him. Oliver looked back at the bird, and slowly he took it out of the cage. "I'm sorry." He whispered. He looked up at the ceiling of the cave as he put his hand around the bird's neck and twisted, snapping the spine and killing the bird. Yao Fei glanced at him, before he went back to work on making new traps._

_Back in the present, Quentin put his jacket on Laurel. "Let's get you home, sweetie." He said, walking with her back to his car. "How'd he get into that prison, anyway, huh?" he asked suddenly, stopping and looking at Laurel. "A grown man in an outfit and a hood, that kind of stands out a little, doesn't it?"_

"_He actually wasn't wearing the outfit this time." Laurel said. "He was in a prison guard uniform and a ski mask." Quentin looked at her, and then looked away, thinking. "What?" she asked._

_Quentin shook his head and smiled. "Nothing." He said. "I just had an idea." He opened the door to his cruiser. "Get in the car." He said. Laurel got in and Lance closed the door, still thinking._

Quentin's eyes narrowed. 'I wonder what I thought of…'

_The scene shifted to an isolated warehouse. Walter walked up to the door. He tried it, but found it locked. He then looked at the electronic keypad. He thought for a few moments, then typed in TEMPEST. It buzzed, indicating wrong code. The screen cleared, and Walter nest tried Oliver. It buzzed again. He tried Thea, and it buzzed again. He thought for a moment, pausing only briefly as he typed ROBERT. The pad beeped and the door opened. He hesitantly walked inside. Opening the inside door, he was greeted by a pitch black expanse. He spied some light switches on the wall next to him and flipped them. As the lights came on, he found himself on a catwalk twenty feet above the floor of the warehouse- and laid out before him was the wreckage of the Queen's Gambit._

"Oh, Moira." Malcolm said. "You have been busy."

Thea's eyes were wide in shock. "'The Gambit'," she breathed. "Mom, what the fuck?"

"Language-"

"FUCK MY LANGUAGE!" Thea shouted. "Why…how…"

"After Malcolm visited me, I hired a crew to look for the boats' remains. I wanted to analyze them and see if I could prove that the boat was sabotaged, and I had hoped I'd find evidence that would directly link the ship's sinking with Malcolm. Unfortunately," she looked at the man in question, "I never did find anything that linked Malcolm with the sinking. But I did have proof that it was an explosive device that sank 'The Gambit'. So I held onto the boat as insurance."

"And now Walter is sniffing around." Malcolm noted. "I wonder how I'll take that."

An uneasy silence fell, and Felicity started the memory again.

_The scene changed to the SCPD, where Lance, Hilton and the computer expert Kelton were looking at his screens as he pulled up footage._

"_Ok, here's the security footage from the Exchange building shooting," Kelton said, "but I've already scrubbed through all of it."_

"_Yeah? Well, we're gonna do it again." Lance stated. "So, listen, when you went through the camera security tapes, you were looking for a guy in a green outfit and a green hood, right?" he asked._

"_What do you want me to look for, a man in a wig and a tutu?" Kelton said sarcastically._

"That would be hilarious." Tommy said, easing the tension.

"_I want you to look for anything that's out of the ordinary, ok?" the detective replied irritably. "Just look." The three cops watched for a few minutes before something caught Lance's eye. "Hey, whoa, whoa, whoa." He said, getting their attention. He pointed to one of the monitors. "Wait. Go back 10 seconds." He did so, and as the footage rewound, Lance saw an easily recognizable Oliver Queen pulling a duffle bag out of a trashcan, and extracting a hood from the bag._

"_What is that?" Kelton asked. Quentin leaned forward._

"_I'll be damned." He said. "Play that again."_

"Kid get sloppy or creative, you think?" Slade asked Malcolm, who was smiling.

"Oh, I think he's much too intelligent to be that sloppy." He replied.

_The scene changed to the next day, where Laurel was walking with Peter Declan through the park._

"_Thank you, Laurel." Declan said sincerely._

"_Don't thank me." She countered with a smile. "Thank Brodeur's bodyguard Ankov for flipping him." She looked over to a bench, where an elderly woman and a small child were waiting. "I think there's someone that wants to see you."_

"_Izzy." Declan breathed, looking at his baby girl. The girl, hesitantly at first, then with growing confidence ran to her father, who knelt down and took her in his arms, crying tears of joy._

Laurel smiled happily at the reunion.

_The scene changed to the lair, where Oliver was watching a news broadcast of Brodeur being led away in handcuffs. 'At least 5 federal, state, and local agencies are seeking millions of dollars in fines and environmental cleanup costs from Brodeur Chemical. New facts have come to light that Brodeur Chemical employee Camille Declan had discovered Brodeur was illegally disposing waste and had collected a file of evidence against her employer before her murder in 2007. Peter Declan, who was convicted of killing his wife, has been released, and the case has been reopened."_

_He crossed Brodeur's name off the list, then looked sadly at Laurel's picture. He put it back in the book and closed it as he thought back to the island._

_Flashback to the cave, where Oliver is now eating cooked pheasant. Yao Fei walked in and sat across from him._

"_Shengcún." He said. Oliver nodded._

"_Yeah." He said, a mouth full of pheasant. "Bird. I know."_

"_Shengcún not mean 'bird'." Oliver looked up in shock. "Shengcún mean 'survive'."_

"_You speak English." Oliver asked incredulously._

Thea, Tommy, Felicity and Laurel all chuckled.

"_You want survive this place, bird not last thing you kill." He pulled Laurel's picture out from his shirt. "And forget her." He advised. "You look at that all day, you not survive this place."_

_The scene shifted to the present. Moira walked up to a limo and climbed inside. "You wanted to see me?" she asked, looking across to Malcolm Merlyn._

Tommy's eyes narrowed. Malcolm leaned forward, interested.

"_You look nervous, Moira." He noted. She hummed noncommittally. _

"_Do I have a reason to be?" she asked._

"_We all do." Malcolm pulled out the sketch of The Hood and handed it to her. She looked at it, uninterested._

"_A modern-day Robin hood." She decided. She looked at Malcolm. "What, are you worried that your net worth makes you a target?"_

_Malcolm tuned and leaned in close. "Jason Brodeur, Adam Hunt, Warren Patel." He listed off. "Tell me you see a connection, Moira."_

_The realization was instant. "He's not targeting the rich."_

"_No, he's not." He agreed. "He's targeting the list."_

_The scene shifted to Queen Manor. Oliver walked in to the sitting room, where Diggle was standing by the windows. He cleared his throat._

"_You here for the bodyguard position?" he asked, "'Cause the new guy just quit."_

"Knew it!" Tommy said.

"Poor Rob." Felicity added. "We barely knew ye."

_Digg smiled. "No, I'm not." He said, turning to face Oliver. "I'm here about the other position." Oliver held out his hand, but Digg stayed where he was. "Just to be clear, I'm not signing on to be a sidekick." He said. Oliver put his hand down and Diggle started walking towards him. "But you're right. Fighting for this city needs to be done, and you're gonna do this with or without me."_

"_Yeah." Oliver agreed._

"_But with me, there'll be fewer casualties, including you." He stopped in front of the man. Oliver looked at him with a wan smile._

"_Diggle, I'm not looking for anybody to save me." He argued._

"_Maybe not, but you need someone just the same." Digg said. "You __**are**__ fighting a war, Queen, except you have no idea what war does to you, how it scrapes off little pieces of your soul." Digg held out his hand. "And you need someone to remind you of who you are, not this thing you're becoming." Oliver nodded and took his hand, shaking it._

_Just then the front doors burst open and half a dozen cops, including Lance and Hilton, barged in past a very upset Walter._

"_Oliver Queen." Lance yelled. Oliver walked out of the sitting room as the cops came in the foyer._

"_What is this?" Walter demanded. "You can't just barge in here."_

_Lance stopped in front of the Brit and gave him a satisfied smile. "Yeah? Well, I got a badge and a gun that say different." He noted._

"_Hey, what the hell's going on?!" Oliver asked, spotting Lance for the first time. "Detective Lance-" _

"_Oliver Queen," he cut him off, moving to cuff the man just as Moira came in, "you're under arrest on suspicion of obstruction of justice, aggravated assault," Moira looked at her husband in panic. "What is going on?" she asked. Thea, having heard the commotion, watched it all from the top of the stairs. "Walter, stop them!" she shouted. Lance continued through all the interruptions. "Trespassing, acting as a vigilante…" _

_"Are you out of your mind?!" Oliver shouted at the cop. _

_"And murder." He finished, He gave the younger man a victorious look. As he led him out of the house, he began to read him his rights. "You have the right to remain silent. Give up that right…."_

Everyone stared at the screen dumbfounded as it faded to black. Finally Quentin hummed in surprise.

"Huh. I nailed the-" he cut himself off catching the murderous look Moira was giving him, "-brat." He finished lamely.

"Not for very long, I don't think." Malcolm said. At his look, Malcolm smiled. "Come now, Detective. After seeing what we've seen, do you truly take him for a fool? This is all a part of some plan. What the plan is, though…" he trailed off, shrugging his shoulders.

The door opened to reveal Mia standing there. "Well, that seems like a good place to stop for the night." She said happily.

Tommy groaned. "Seriously? Now, after Oliver gets arrested?"

"What, it's nothing you haven't seen before four times." Mia joked. "Besides, I like to keep my audience riveted. Now, I'll show you all to your rooms." Grudgingly, they all rose and followed Mia out of the room. They walked down the hall past several closed doors until they reached a row of open doors. "Since we are in the VIP wing, everybody gets their own room." Mia announced. "Breakfast will be at 0800 to accommodate late sleepers," he looked at Thea, who merely raised an eyebrow in reply. "For those who wish to take advantage, there is a gym just down the hall. It's general use, so everyone on the station uses it. If you do use it, remember to behave yourselves." She looked to Slade, then Malcolm. "All right, lecture over. Pick a room and grab some shut-eye. We got a long day tomorrow." Mia turned and left, and the groups rapidly split apart, each person picking a room to get some sleep.

**TBC 12/1/2014**

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><p><strong>AN:** So, the past few episodes have been damn good. Just a reminder- while I may cherry pick some things to use in this story, the events of the current Season 3 did not happen in this universe. To everyone I didn't respond to, thank you for the reviews. They are food for my writer's soul.

Also, I have finished transcribing Season 1, and am now working on Season 2. I anticipate it will take me a month or so, but just so you know that means I have 22 chapters in the can. Once I get them transcribed and at least half of the chapters finished, I may go to a weekly posting schedule. We'll see.


	7. Chapter 6: Damaged

**Disclaimer:** Arrow is owned by The CW, Berlanti Productions, and Warner Bros. Television. The character of the Green Arrow and the Justice League is owned by DC Comics. I own nothing; I'm just playing in their universe.

**Chapter 6: Damaged**

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><p>Despite how tired everyone was, they all had a hard time falling asleep. Diggle couldn't stop thinking about his brother, and about the mission it seems he will sign up for. Malcolm thought about everything Mia had said, and about all the choices he had made in the past few years- choices that were rapidly becoming moot. Tommy couldn't stop thinking about the cold man his father truly was, and wondered just how ruthless he had been- and still was. Thea, likewise, was thinking about Malcolm- and about Robert, the man she still (and always would) consider to be her father.<p>

Moira lay in bed, thinking of all the compromises she had been forced to make, all of the lies she had told. And she worried about Walter- because she knew exactly what Malcolm would do if he dug too deep. Quentin tossed and turned, thinking about how much he hated Queen- and trying to reconcile that with how much he was starting to respect what he was doing, if only he'd tone it down a bit. Laurel thought about the man she had loved, about the horrors he must have seen- and realized that they hadn't seen those horrors yet. She shivered in her bed, thinking about how that would feel to watch him suffer. Once, she had hoped he had suffered, for everything he had done and all the pain he put her family through. But no longer.

After tossing and turning for a bit, Felicity got up and walked over to a small desk in the room. Sitting down, she quickly figured out how to turn the computer installed there on. And after looking around for a bit, she was excited to realize that she could use this system- it appeared to be based off of several theories she was working on in her spare time! Slade Wilson had lain down to bed and had been asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. He had no worries, no revelations, and no anxieties. No, those would come later. And he should be well rested when they did come. But by 0100, everyone was in bed and at least trying to sleep.

Morning comes differently on a space station. There are no sunrises; instead, the shades over the windows in the VIP rooms opened promptly at 0700, letting the ambient light reflected off the planet below filter in to the rooms. Malcolm, giving up on trying to sleep, got up and made his way into the small bathroom attached to the room. Fifteen minutes later he was showered, shaved, and dressed- though instead of his usual three-piece suit, he was forced to wear a grey Air Force jumpsuit he had found in the dresser. He didn't particularly mind- he had to wear less fashionable things over the years. Malcolm left the room and started walking down towards the sitting room, deciding to get an early breakfast. He was halfway down the hall when the unmistakable sound of two swords clashing caught his well-trained ears. Spying an open door, he walked in and paused.

It was the gym Mia had mentioned. The center of the room was sunken, and held several large training mats, along with other various machines. Around the edges of the room, the walls were lined with various weapons- from swords to escrima sticks to throwing stars. The gym was mostly empty, with the exception of three women on the mats below, and Malcolm eyed them with interest. Mia was circling a well-toned blonde woman; each held a sword in their hands. Off to the side on the floor sat the third woman, whose striking white hair was only offset by the white eye patch she wore. He laughed quietly to himself as the patched woman reached out and snagged the blonde's ankle as she circled past, causing her to stumble. Mia took advantage and launched a flurry of attacks that the blonde barely managed to turn back.

"Always mind your surroundings." Mia said calmly, smirking at her friend.

"Mind my surroundings." Stephanie muttered "Come down and patrol Gotham for a night, then tell me about minding my surroundings!"

"I hear a lot of bitching, but I'm not seeing a lot of action." Rose said, smirking.

"Yeah, well I'll kick your ass in a minute. I'm busy kicking hers right now." Stephanie growled, attacking Mia who turned it aside with ease.

"You'll let me know when you start to kick my ass, right?" Mia teased.

* * *

><p>Tommy walked out of his room, rubbing the sleep off his face. Though the site before him caused him to chuckle. Thea was standing in the hall, looking out the window- dressed in the same drab grey jumpsuit that he was. She turned when she heard Tommy, and scowled at her brother.<p>

"Laugh it up, Merlyn."

"You look great." Tommy said with a smile. Thea rolled her eyes, but when her mother's door opened she laughed out loud.

Moira Queen stood in the door, dressed the same as her daughter and Tommy. She crossed her arms and glared at Thea.

"We will never speak of this to anyone." She ground out. "Am I understood?"

Thea was still snickering as Tommy offered Moira his arm. "Breakfast awaits, Madame." Moira smiled and took his arm; Thea moved to take the other. The three walked down the hall towards the sitting room, but they too were drawn by the sounds of swordplay. Curious, Tommy turned into the gym. His face closed off as he saw his father there.

"Good morning, Tommy. Moira, Thea." He said without turning around.

"Dad." Tommy said. Any remark was cut off as he saw what was happening on the mats below. "What the…"

"A sparing session." Malcolm explained as the two women below exchanged blows. Thea's eyes widened as she watched.

Stephanie lunged, and Mia easily side-stepped, letting the blonde fly past her. As she went past, Mia added insult to injury by swatting Stephanie on the rear end with the flat of her sword.

"Hey!"

"Focus, Steph. Use your senses to anticipate my movements." Mia lectured.

"Yeah, yeah." Stephanie replied, blocking Mia's lunge. She swung high, but anticipated the block and reversed the swing, going low. Mia managed to duck and roll out of the way. Mia lashed out with her foot, which Stephanie blocked with her arm. "You're getting slow, old woman!"

"Who are you calling old?" Mia asked, indignant. "You're like five minutes younger than me!"

"Still younger." Stephanie replied cheekily. The two exchanged a flurry of blows, ending with Stephanie on her back. She quickly rolled out of the way of Mia's descending foot and shot back to her feet. "Come on, Grandma! Show me something!"

Mia's eyes narrowed. Stephanie lunged forward, swinging high. Mia rolled forward underneath the blade's swing. She came up and ran forward, leaping towards the wall hitting the wall, she spring boarded back towards Stephanie's exposed back and sliced downward, cutting partway through her sports bra and leaving a small scratch on the skin. Mia landed in a crouch and reversed her sword, knocking Stephanie's feet out from under her with the blunt edge of the blade. Stephanie landed hard on her back, and Mia flipped the sword around, plunging it trough the other edge of Stephanie's workout pants and into the mats below. Out of reflex Stephanie sat up, only to be met with Mia's elbow to her chin which sent her right back down.

At the railing by the door, Thea's jaw dropped. "Holy shit, I'm a ninja!"

On the mats, Mia plopped down next to the groaning Stephanie while Rose clapped sarcastically. Mia grinned at her, then looked back at Stephanie, who was rubbing her jaw.

"And what did we learn here today?" she asked sweetly.

"Don't fuck with the elderly." Stephanie replied, causing Rose to burst out laughing. Gingerly the blond sat up, wary of another elbow. When none came, she looked down at her pants. "You know, I liked these pants."

Mia yanked the sword out and rose to her feet, offering Stephanie a hand. "It's called a needle and thread, you lazy bitch." She said with a smile.

Stephanie took her hand and let herself be put up. "No, it's called 'I'll let you buy me a new pair'." She brushed herself off, then walked towards the stairs up to the walkway. "You can go ahead and wait till your social security check clears, if it helps…"

Mia smirked then swung her swords upwards expertly. The blade cut through the rest of the rear strap of the sports bra, allowing it to fall off- right in front of a newly arrived Dick Grayson, as well as the four visitors. Both stopped in surprise. Stephanie yelped and covered herself with her arms as best she could.

"Why Steph," Dick said with a wolfish grin, "It's not even my birthday!"

"Well, this trip keeps getting better and better." Tommy remarked, earning an elbow in the gut from Thea.

Stephanie glared the two men. "You're both dicks." She ground out as she stormed past, heading towards the changing rooms.

"Actually, I'm pretty sure his name isn't Dick." Grayson called out. He smiled at the four visitors. "Hi. Richard Grayson, I'll be one of your 'handlers' during your visit." He said, shaking Tommy, Moira and Thea's hands. He stopped at Malcolm. "Malcolm Merlyn. It has been awhile."

Malcolm gave Richard his most charming smile. "We've met before?" he enquired.

"Not yet." Dicks says. "Though I am looking forward to my younger self kicking your ass half a dozen times." Dick's smile widened as the smile fell off Malcolm's face.

"Dick, be nice." Mia warned as she put up her equipment.

Dick smiled at her and held up his hands in surrender. "Hey, at least I'm trying to be nice." he said, taking the escrima sticks she offered him. "Has Dinah been up yet?"

She gave him a look, then looked down at Rose. "Rose, kick his ass."

"You got it." Her friend replied. Dick smirked and headed down to the mats.

"Hey, what did Stephanie say to you that got you so riled up?" he asked.

"She called me old."

"She called YOU old?" Dick shook his head. "Now I feel old."

"You ARE old." Mia pointed out as she finished putting up her gear. She turned to the four visitors. "Sorry about him." She said, looking at Malcolm. "You aren't exactly the most popular person to the League."

"So I've noticed." Malcolm replied dryly. "You had good form." He offered.

Mia smiled. "I should. You taught me." Ignoring the gasps of the other three, she grabbed a toweled and threw it over her shoulder. "So, how about some breakfast?" she asked, walking out of the gym. The four of them followed.

"What do you mean, he trained you?" Tommy demanded as they walked down the hall.

"Your father isn't the man you thought he was, Tommy." Mia said. "He's quite the accomplished fighter. And there came a point in my life when I was tired of being weak, so I asked him to train me. I had other teachers, of course- Shiva, Cain, Ra's himself- but it was always his lessons that stuck with me the most."

"This isn't the first League you joined." Malcolm confirmed. Mia glanced back at him.

"No, it isn't. And you all will learn about the other League in a couple of days." They entered the viewing room; a continental breakfast was laid out. Mai went over and grabbed a plate for herself. "Actually, and Tommy, you'll love this- a lot of what I use now as the Green Arrow, I learned from Diana and the Amazons." She looked over at her brother. "There is an island in the Bermuda Triangle called Themyscira, populated solely by warrior women who live in an ancient Greek culture."

Tommy blinked. "All women?"

Thea sighed. "Of course, THAT'S the thing that gets his attention." She looked at her older self. "So Malcolm and these Amazons trained you to be a hero?"

Mia smiled sadly at her younger self. "Not exactly." was all she said. At that moment, the rest of the group started filing in, and Mia backed off to let the others get their food. Mia put her plate down and picked up another, then stopped when she saw Felicity frown. "Everything is nut-free, I assure you." She told the computer genius.

"Oh!" she said, surprised by the attention. "No, it's not that. It's just…. We're on a space station."

"Yes, we are." Mia said with a smile.

"I guess I was expecting… you know, astronaut food."

"It's the future, Felicity," Mia said bemusedly. "Even NASA doesn't use astronaut food anymore, not since artificial gravity was invented." At her downcast look, she added. "Tell you what. I'll see if I can find some freeze-dried ice cream for you." Felicity chuckled and moved off to fix her plate. Soon everyone had their breakfast and had sat down to eat, and Mia was busy making another plate when Stephanie stalked in. She marched up to Mia, then stopped and stood there with her arms crossed.

"I hate you." She said, scowling at the woman.

Mia smiled and held out a plate of food. "Here, eat this. We all know how grumpy you get if you don't get your breakfast."

Stephanie stuck out her tongue, but grabbed the plate anyways. "Everyone, this is Stephanie Brown." Mia introduced to the room at large. "She'll be in the monitoring room with me, and if you need anything and I'm not around, she'll be here to assist you." Stephanie nodded in hello to them all. "Now, we'll head out and queue up the next file. Feel free to start when you're ready."

"Mia," Moira said, stopping the woman before she left, "I was wondering-"

"Where your clothes are?" Mia guessed. Moira nodded. "Well, they're being cleaned. And since you'll be here for a bit, I took the liberty of providing the jumpsuits as a comfortable alternative. So don't worry, you'll get your stuff back before you leave." Mia started to leave, then stopped and turned around. "Also, I really wanted to see if you would leave her room wearing that." She said with a grin. Moira let out an exasperated sigh as Thea laughed outright.

Mia and Stephanie were halfway down the hall when Tommy came out of the viewing room. "Hey, Mia! Wait!" she stopped and turned, allowing him to catch up to them. "Uh, can I ask you a question?"

"You can ask. I reserve the right not to answer, though." Mia said with a smile. "What is it?"

"It's about what that Dick guy said. About Dinah?" he asked. The smile left her face. "He meant Laurel, right?"

Mia nodded. "You want to know why she'd be angry?" she asked. Tommy nodded. "Tommy, Dinah and I haven't gotten along for years. And she wasn't too thrilled with this whole plan I've concocted. And she really hates your dad." She added. "That's all I'm willing to say right now, okay?"

"Okay." He said. "I was just curious."

Mia's face softened. "You've already learned a lot of things, Tommy. And you will learn a lot more. Most of which you won't like. Just be patient."

Tommy nodded, then turned and walked back to the viewing room. Mia sighed and entered the monitor room, where Stephanie was waiting for her.

"Your brother is cute." She said. "If I wasn't in a relationship, I'd totally do him." Mia gave her a look as she brought up the next file.

Back in the sitting room, new seating arrangements were made after breakfast was done. Thea, Tommy and Laurel all sat on one of the couches, while Malcolm, Moira and Quentin sat on another. Diggle and Felicity sat on the third, and Slade kept his single chair. Slade picked up the remote with interest. "Let us see how the kid got out of this mess." He said, pressing play.

_The memory set opened with a recap of Oliver's arrest. The scene then flashed back to the Island. A rabbit stood in the distance in the forest- and was suddenly cut down by an arrow. Several yards away stood Yao Fei, bow in hand, with Oliver standing next to him. He indicated to the rabbit._

_"Dinner." he said._

_Oliver looked at him, and then groaned. "Ah, come- hey, I got an idea, why don't you let me shoot that thing and you can go pick up the bloody, dead, disgusting animal." He whined. _

"Yeah, this won't end well." Tommy remarked.

_Yao Fei looked him over, and then indicated to his bow. "What?" Oliver asked, confused._

_"Try." He said simply, handing the bow over. Oliver took it, unsure. "Breathe." Yao Fei advised. Everything, , aim, fire." He instructed. He handed him an arrow. "Here." He said, then pointed at a far off tree. "Aim that tree."_

_Oliver nocked the arrow and took aim. "Breathe." Yao Fei advised again, and Oliver took a slow, steadying breath. He released it, then shot the arrow-_

_That went wide to the right._

"Fail!" Tommy crowed. Thea shook her head.

"Like you'd do any better." She muttered.

_"Nǐ huì sǐ de hěn cǎn" Yao Fei muttered._

_ "What does that mean?" Oliver asked, annoyed._

_"You will die badly." He translated dryly. He pointed in the direction the arrow went. "Get."_

_Oliver sighed in annoyance, but walked off in search of the wayward arrow. He moved deeper into the forest, and he finally spotted it, sticking out of a fallen tree. He moved to get it, when suddenly a hand covered his mouth. _

The ladies screamed in shock as the men sat up, leaning towards the screen. All except Slade, who knew very well who those men were.

_Arms grabbed him and dragged him further into the trees. Soon his hands were bound in front of him, and he was led by three men in black tactical gear and ski masks to a pit covered by a makeshift bamboo grate. They opened the grate and shoved him into the hole. Oliver crashed down, barely able to break his fall, and turned over to see the men close the grate and secure it, locking him in._

_"Wait, wait! You can't leave me here!" he cried out, grasping at the grate. One of the men smashed his fingers with the butt of his assault rifle. Oliver screamed in pain, letting go and falling back down. "Don't do this to me, please! Oh-oh! No! Please! I didn't do anything!"_

* * *

><p><em>The scene flashed back to present as Oliver was led out of a squad car in cuffs and into the SCPD headquarters through a sea of reporters.<em>

_'The police think they know who I am.' Oliver's' voice sounded, playing over his booking. 'They think I'm the vigilante. The man in the hood terrorizing the city's also think they have me trapped. That I have no way out. They're only half right.'_

_"This is a mistake."_

_The scene had changed to an interrogation room, where Lance sat across a table from Oliver. Lance didn't even look up from his forms at Oliver's declaration._

_"I'll be asking you a few questions, standard stuff for the report." He said. "Have you been arrested before? That's ok, I know the answer to that one, plenty of times." he put in sarcastically._

_ "Like I said, this is a mistake." Oliver repeated._

_"Far as I can tell, the only mistake I made was not shooting you down at the docks when I had a chance." Lance snarled in reply._

Moira glared at Quentin, who was suddenly wishing he'd sat with Diggle and Felicity.

_"I am not who you think I am." He tried. Lance scoffed._

_"Oh, you're exactly who I think you are." He stated. "You're a dangerous menace who doesn't care about who he hurts, except now you're doing it with bows and arrows instead of trust funds and yachts."_

_Oliver sat back in his chair. "Detective, you hate me. I get it. But that doesn't make me a vigilante." He reasoned._

_"No." Lance agreed, and then pressed on. "The security camera footage of you at the UNIDAC auction with a green hood does that pretty well."_

_"And as I said again, I ran into the stairwell once I heard the shooting." Oliver stated, leaning forward. "I saw a duffel bag that I thought maybe belonged to the shooter. I grabbed it, looked inside and saw a hood." He finished._

Malcolm's eyes narrowed. "That is a pretty weak story." He noted aloud.

"All he needs to do is establish reasonable doubt." Laurel pointed out.

_"And what- you took it home with you? 'Cause we can't find it." Lance retorted. "And what about harassing Adam Hunt? That just happened to take place right across the street from your little homecoming bash."_

_"Those were coincidences." Oliver argued._

_"No. When they pile up like that, it becomes evidence." Lance replied. He began to work on the forms again when a patrol man opened the door. _

_"His parents are here." The cop announced._

_"Tell them to wait." Lance ordered._

_"I want to see my son." Moira demanded, storming into the room with Walter right behind her._

_"I'm in the middle of an interrogation here!" Lance yelled, getting up from his chair._

_"Detective Lance," Moira started, fury etched on her face, "I know you hate my family, but I had no idea that you'd go so far to arrest my son without any grounds whatsoever!"_

_"I have solid grounds, and I have evidence." Lance argued coldly._

_"Which you can present to Mr. Queen's attorney when he gets here." Walter countered. "Until then, this interrogation is over, Detective."_

_Lance looked at Moira and Walter, then down at Oliver, still seated at the table. "Sure." He said finally, walking out of the room "You have fifteen minutes." He closed the door, leaving the family alone in the room._

_"Detective Lance appears to be on some personal vendetta." Walter noted._

_"He is." Oliver agrees, looking at the man. "He blames me for the death of his daughter. He also thinks that I dress up in a green hood and shoot people with arrows." He finished dryly._

_"The important thing is not to say anything until your attorney gets here." Walter advised._

_"Fine." He agreed. "I want Laurel."_

Quentin groaned as Laurel looked incredulously at the screen. Thea snickered at her look.

"Why so surprised?" she asked the girl. "He knows you're a good lawyer, and it'll rile your dad up."

_Both Moira and Walter scoffed. "Brilliant." Walter muttered. _

_"Oliver I don't think your ex-girlfriend can be counted on to be objective here." Moira argued. Oliver looked at her, unflinching._

_"She knows me better than anyone. She knows that I could never be this guy." He reasoned. He looked to his stepfather. "Walter, you say Lance has a vendetta?"_

_"Yes." He replied._

_"I think Laurel can get him off of it." Oliver continued. "He raised her to do the right thing. That includes representing an innocent man. So Mom," He looked to Moira. "Please." He asked plainly. Moira sighed._

_The scene changed to CNRI. Moira entered and looked around, finally finding her target. "Laurel." She said, walking up to the attorney that was busily reading a file. Laurel looked up in surprise._

_"Mrs. Queen!" she exclaimed, confusion on her face. "What are you-"_

_"It's Oliver. Something's happened." She began. Laurel looked at her sympathetically._

_"I know." She glanced at a TV that was re-airing Oliver's walk up the precinct stairs. "It's been all over the news."_

_Moira sighed. "These charges are ludicrous." She stated._

_"I know." Laurel agreed, walking them back to her desk. "Can I ask you, who's representing him?"_

_Moira looked at her awkwardly. "Well, that's why I'm here." She looked at the younger woman. "He wants you to represent him."_

_"Me?" Laurel asked in confusion._

_"Yes." Moira replied, slightly embarrassed. "I told him it was a bad idea, but to be frank, I am desperate. He says if you don't represent him, then he doesn't want any attorney."_

"OF course he would say that." Moira muttered.

_"Mrs. Queen," she began slowly, "my father is the arresting officer."_

_"Yes." Moira agreed._

_"And I don't think it's a good idea for me to represent someone who I've been involved with." she finished with a sympathetic look. "Listen, I am sorry for what your family is going through-"_

_"No apologies." Moira interrupted with a smile. "Your idealism, I think, is why my son, for all his mistakes, is so smitten with you." She sighed. "Regardless, it was a bad idea on his part, and I am sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable."_

"Because that won't make me feel guilty." Laurel muttered. Moira sat back with a small, satisfied smirk.

_The scene shifted to the courthouse, where Oliver was being led into the courtroom by an officer._

_"Docket 81941, People vs. Oliver Queen." The bailiff intoned. Oliver walked past his family, and Tommy, to sit at the defendants table. "Murder, aggravated assault, assault with intent, menacing and trespassing."_

"Trespassing just seems so… minor, doesn't it?" Tommy noted. Thea nodded in reply.

_Judge Moss looked at Oliver, then looked around "Where's your attorney, Mr. Queen?" she asked._

_"I'm representing myself, Judge." He stood and replied calmly._

_"I'm not sure that's the wisest course, Mr. Queen." The Judge argued._

_"I think it is." He countered. "I'm innocent."_

_"Then we'll consider that your plea." Moss said._

_"Thank you." Oliver said sitting back down._

_"Now, as to bail-"_

_"Your Honor," said District Attorney Kate Spencer as she stood to address the Judge."Mr. Queen's family owns a pair of private jets, and, well, on the subject of their wealth, I would point out that there is virtually no bail amount that can guarantee his presence at trial." She argued._

_"So then I guess it's a good thing that the people's case is so circumstantial." Heads turned and Oliver allowed himself a satisfied smile as Laurel made her way into the court. She walked past Oliver's stunned family, and her even more stunned father, to stand next to the defendant's table. "Dinah Laurel Lance, Your Honor." She announced. "I'd like to file my appearance on behalf of the defendant." _

"Of course you'd end up doing it anyway." Quentin said grumpily.

"Was there ever any doubt?" Tommy asked.

_Oliver gratefully slipped over to the second chair so Laurel could take her rightful place at the table. "Mr. Queen's wealth should not deprive him of the right to be released on bail while under the presumption of innocence." She argued._

_"He is a flight risk." Spencer countered._

_"Then minimize the risk." Laurel reasoned. "The defendant is willing to submit to home confinement and electronic monitoring through the wearing of a UKG45 administrated ankle device."_

_The smile fell completely off Oliver's face. "No, he wouldn't." he argued._

_"Sold." The Judge said, ignoring him._

_"Your Honor-"Spencer tried to argue, but the judge cut her off, too. "Bail is set at $15 million. $5 million bond." She announced. "Defendant to see probation for the fitting of a GPS device." She banged the gavel to close out the hearing._

Malcolm leaned forward. "So, how are you going to get out of this one, Oliver?" he wondered.

"I beg your pardon?" Moira asked archly.

"I don't think he was expecting the GPS anklet." Malcolm explained. "It will be interesting to see his solution."

_Oliver leaned back in his chair and looked at his ex-girlfriend. "I knew you couldn't resist saving my ass." He said with a smile._

_"You're going to make me regret this, aren't you?" she asked wryly._

_"No." he denied. "It's going to be like old times."_

_"Fortunately for you with the legal case, there's no way that you're this vigilante." She noted, closing her briefcase._

_"I agree."_

_She looked him dead in the eye. "Because he's actually trying to make a both know that's not really your style." She stated, rising to leave. She didn't see the hurt look in his eyes that he masked almost immediately. _

"Bitch much?" Thea muttered under her breath. Laurel winced at the truth of her statement.

_The scene changed to Queen Manor later that day, where Oliver was getting fitted with his ankle bracelet as Moira, Walter, and Tommy looked on._

_"Mom." He said calmingly to his mother, "It's not that bad."_

_The cop finished. "Okay. This device has a direct line into the on the property, you're golden." He instructed. "Any questions?"_

_"Yes." Oliver said immediately. "I'm having a sizeable get together here tomorrow evening, and there is a better than likely chance it spills into the outdoor pool." Tommy and Moira looked at him in disbelief. _

_The cop didn't bat an eye.__"Pool deck's fine." He said. "Step on the grass, they're sending a SWAT team to forcibly subdue you." He finished wryly._

_"Thank you, officer." Oliver said. The cop showed himself out._

_"A 'sizeable get together'?" Moira asked in disbelief._

_"I'm confined to this house for the foreseeable future.I might as well make the most of it." He announced. He looked over at Tommy. "And this party is going to be themed." He decided. "I'm thinking prison, uh, burning man meets 'Shawshank Redemption'. The invite says, 'come before Oliver Queen gets off'."_

Laurel slapped her forehead in disbelief; even Tommy looked stunned. Malcolm surprised everyone with a laugh.

"I fail to see what's so funny." Moira said crossly.

"It's brilliant." Malcolm replied with a grin. "He throws a party at his house, where hundreds of people will see him there. During the chaos of the party he slips out, gets spotted as the Hood somewhere across town, then makes his way back to the party, where no one will have noticed him missing because of all of the noise and all of the guest wandering around the mansion."

"Except now he has a new piece of jewelry." Quentin noted. "So how does he get around that?"

Malcolm shook his head. "I honestly have no idea. I suppose we'll have to wait and see."

_"Maybe a party's not in the best of taste, you know, considering the circumstances." Tommy said, trying to be the voice of reason as he sat down next to his friend._

_"Tommy, the circumstances are why we're having the party in the first place." Oliver said. He looked at the three of them. "I want people to know that I'm not worried about any of this."_

_"Well, that makes one of us." Moira said archly._

_The scene changed to Laurel's apartment, where Quentin was having a 'conversation' with his daughter._

_"Before you start yelling-"_

_"Why would I yell?" he asked harshly. "You're only defending the man that killed your sister."_

Quentin shifted uneasily in his seat.

_"Oliver did not kill Sara!" Laurel exclaimed, exasperated._

_"If it wasn't for him, she wouldn't have been on that boat." Quentin shot back._

_"Have you considered the possibility that that's the reason you're trying to make him out to be this-this menace?" Laurel reasoned hotly._

_"No." Quentin denied. "It is the videotape, it's the suspicious timing, that is the reason!"_

_"This is Oliver Queen we're talking about." Laurel exploded. "He wrecks fancy cars and he dates doesn't kill people."_

_"No, he just uses them, like he used Sara and like he used you, and he's only asked you to be his lawyer to get at me." Quentin stated angrily._

_"No, he asked me to be his lawyer to get through to you." Laurel explained. _

"No, I'm pretty sure your dad is right." Tommy noted.

"Shut up, Tommy." Laurel and Thea both said.

_"You hate the Hood and you hate Oliver, and you want more than anything for them to be the same Oliver isn't the reason why Sara the reason mom left." She added._

Now Laurel shifted uneasily in her seat.

_"I don't have to listen to this." Quentin said, storming past her._

_"And by the way," she added, "You're not the only one who misses them."_

_Quentin sighed, and then left as Laurel looked on sadly._

_The scene changed back to Queen Manor. Oliver was in his room, working on his laptop and looking through the notebook when there was a knock on the door._

_"Yup?" Oliver called. Diggle opened the door and walked into the room. "Thank you for coming." Oliver said, and then added quietly "Shut the door."_

_Diggle did so and walked over to Oliver. "I guess it was just a matter of time before the police caught up with you."_

_"Except they didn't."_

_"Oliver, they got you on video." Diggle protested._

_"I knew the security camera was there, just like I knew the police would review the footage and arrest me." Oliver explained. "All part of the plan."_

Malcolm smiled triumphantly.

_"So you wanted to get arrested?" Digg asked, confused._

_"Well, I returned to Starling City and a few days later, the vigilante appears." Oliver reasoned. "Sooner or later, somebody was going to make the connection."_

_"So what part of serving yourself up to the cops will help you avoid going to prison for the rest of your life?" Digg demanded._

_"There's more to it."_

_"Well, there better be, for your sake, because your family is freaking out downstairs." He said, and then added "Oliver, your mother and your sister just got you back, and now you're going to put them through a trial, maybe even worse? Don't you care?" he pleaded._

_"Of course I care." Oliver stated, looking at the man. "The mission comes first." He leant forward and turned the laptop around to show a news article, complete with photo, to Digg._

It suddenly clicked for Malcolm. "Oh." He said simply, looking at Diggle.

_"Who is he?" the bodyguard asked._

_"Leo Mueller." Oliver started explaining. "German arms dealer. Suspected in the theft of a hundred M249 Squad Automatic Weapons."_

_"Ok." Digg said._

_"Last night he arrived in Starling City to sell the guns." Oliver finished. _

_"Oliver, don't you imagine there's enough trouble you're in this week than to go after this guy?" Digg argued._

_"I imagine what would happen if a street gang got their hands on military-grade hardware. I imagine our city's streets turned into a war zone." Oliver stated bluntly._

_"But you're under house arrest, Oliver, which means you can't just go after this guy." Digg pointed out._

_"Look, for now, I would just like you to shadow Mueller." Oliver said. "I would like you to track his movements. "I want to know where the buy is happening."_

_Digg sighed. "Ok." He agreed. "And how am I supposed to track him?"_

_Oliver smiled and leaned back in his chair. "Well, you know us billionaire vigilantes" he said. "We do love our toys."_

Diggle caught Malcom's look, and it suddenly clicked for him as well. "Why do I get the feeling this ends with me in the Hood?" he asked the room.

"Would it even fit?" Felicity wondered out loud. "You're much bigger than him. I mean, you have a bigger head. Cranium! Bigger cranium!" Felicity blushed, and Thea was biting her lip to stop herself from laughing.

"Well, they do say size matters." Tommy said, grinning.

"So THAT'S why you could never keep a girlfriend." Laurel said. The smile fled from his face as Thea burst out laughing.

_The scene changed to the Foundry. Digg flipped on the lights, illuminating Oliver's lair. He took his first clear look at the space and stared in wonder. He walked over to one of the work tables, stopping by a row of arrows that Oliver had made. Hesitantly, he touched his finger to the tip of the arrow. "Ow!" he shook his finger, then started looking around. Finally he found what he had been looking for, a small black case. He hefted it up onto a nearby table, then opened the lid. "Oooh." He said in admiration at the three magnetic GPS transponders. He pulled one out and turned it on, testing it. It beeped happily at him. "Oh, well, that's sweet." He said._

"Where does he get such wonderful toys?" Malcolm wondered.

"eBay?" Quentin asked sarcastically.

_The scene changed to Queen Consolidated. Josiah Hudson, the head of security, entered Walter's office._

_"You wanted to see me, sir?" he asked Walter, who was standing behind his desk looking out the window. Walter turned and looked at the man._

_"No, I didn't." he said, giving the other man a meaningful look. "In fact, this meeting isn't taking place." Hudson nodded, and Walter indicated the seat in front of his desk. He took his own seat. "How long have you been head of security at Queen Consolidated, Josiah?" he asked._

_"Going on seven years now, sir." Josiah replied._

_Walter nodded to himself. "Sounds about right." He noted, leaning forward. "But what I'm about to tell you will test the bounds of your discretion." At the other man's nod, he continued. "You're aware of the 'Queen's Gambit', Robert Queen's ill-fated yacht?" he nodded again. "Well, I found it."_

_Josiah blinked. "Sir, the boat went down in the North China Sea five years ago."_

_"Which is why my discovery of its remains in a warehouse downtown was unexpected, to say the least." He handed the man a slip of paper with an address on it. "I want you to transfer those remains to a secure location. Can I count on you?"_

_Josiah nodded and chuckled. "What's going on, sir?" he asked, half concerned, half amused. Walter gave him a look that killed his amusement._

_"That's very much what I'm trying to determine." Walter said, ending the meeting._

Moira sighed nervously. Walter was putting himself in too much danger by asking questions.

_The scene shifted to SCPD. Laurel and Oliver made their way into the integration room, where Detective Lance and Kate Spencer were waiting for them._

_"Thank you both for coming." Spencer said as the two sat down across the table._

_"No, thank you." Oliver replied glibly. "It's nice to get out of the house."_

_"I'll cut right to it." Spencer glanced at Quentin, and then leaned forward. "Detective Lance arrested your client without consulting my office first. So congratulations. I am willing to consider a plea in this case."_

_"Absolutely not." Oliver replied at once, garnering a look from Laurel._

_" spent five years in seclusion on a deserted island, cut off from civilization." Spencer went on. "It is quite possible he's suffering from some form of post traumatic stress." She sat back. "Given that, we would support a plea of insanity." She offered. Oliver scoffed, even as she continued. "Conditional on a period of indeterminate incarceration at a psychiatric facility."_

_"No, thank you." Oliver said again. "I'm not crazy."_

_"Finally something we agree on." Lance muttered. "He's not a nut, he's a killing machine." He glared at the younger man._

_"Actually, I'm neither." Oliver replied._

_"There is nothing you can say to me that I would believe." Lance declared, giving Oliver an idea._

_"I'll take a polygraph." He offered. _

_Laurel leaned back. "Uh, polygraphs are inadmissible." She told him over her shoulder._

_"In front of the jury." Oliver agreed. He nodded at Quentin. "I'll take a polygraph in front of him. He's the one I need to convince."_

_"I'm going to need a minute." Laurel declared. The other two left the room, with Quentin shooting his daughter a look that she chose to ignore. When the door closed, she whirled around to Oliver. "You're looking at life in prison." She announced. "What Spencer just offered you is a gift."_

_"I'm not crazy. I **am** innocent." He reiterated. "I kind of want to take the polygraph." He added cheerfully, and then said "And if I take it and I fail, then I will consider making a deal."_

_Laurel looked at him and saw the sincerity in his face. "Fine." She said. "I'll set up the poly. And I will tell Spencer that we're not pleading out; but Oliver, you have a .People who actually care about you." She reminded him. "So don't, for one second, think you're the only person with something to lose here." She paused for a moment, then let out a long breath. "I'll be right back."_

"I don't get it." Thea said, confused. "Won't a polygraph clearly show he's lying?"

"There is a reason polygraphs are not admissible in courts of law." Slade said. "The machine measures the body's response to stress. A properly trained man can eliminate those effects on himself during questioning, effectively fooling the machine." He looked back at the screen. "And I have no doubt that Oliver has gotten quite good, since I last saw him." Slade's face darkened as the scene changed.

_The scene flashed back to the island. Oliver, his hands still tied, was being led into a military-style camp by two masked soldiers. He was guided into a large tent and pushed up against the support pole. He winced as his bad shoulder shit._

_Before him, seated behind a table, was a man in the same black uniform as everyone else, sans the mask. He was middle-aged and blonde, and when he spoke it was with a British accent._

_"Please, sit." The man said, indicating a chair. "You're making me feel rude." Oliver dropped heavily into the chair. "I do apologize for my men's treatment of you." He continued, opening a soda and pouring it into a glass with ice. Oliver eyed the drink longingly. "They're trained to view any stranger as hostile.I'm Edward Fyers, by the way." He introduced himself. "And you are?"_

_"I'm Oliver Queen." Oliver said after a moment. "I was shipwrecked here.I don't know for how long. My family has money." He said suddenly, desperately. "They have lots of money you would be you'd be really well compensated for my rescue." He assured him._

_"Well, I look forward to that." Fyers replied casually. "But for the moment, let's just talk."_

_"About what?" Oliver asked tiredly._

_"Well, for instance this gentleman." Fyers reached behind him and pulled a photo off a crate. He showed it to Oliver. "Do you know him?" _

_The picture showed a younger and much cleaner Yao Fei, dressed in full PLA uniform. Oliver recognized him almost instantly, and for a second thought about saying so; but something about Fyers, his men and this whole camp was setting off alarm bells in the back of his mind._

_"No." he said after a pause._

Tommy blinked. "What the hell is he doing?"

"I doubt that even he knows." Slade said.

_"No?"_

_"No." he repeated firmly. "Who's he?"_

_Fyers smiled tightly. "You're a poor liar." He declared. He sat back in his chair and crossed him arms. "I've been polite.I'll offer you one more chance before my manners leave me."_

_"Hey, hey…I don't know this guy." Oliver again argued. "I thought I was on this island all by myself."_

_"Do you know what this island is named?" Fyers asked. Oliver shook his head, and he continued. "We're on Lian Yu- Mandarin for 'Purgatory'," he leaned forward, his gaze boring into Oliver's eyes, "and I can make it feel like hell." _

_Fyers got up and walked around the table so that he was standing by Oliver. "I don't know why you're protecting him." He said, looking down at the boy. "You're young, you don't know why, either." He considered, then in a harsher voice, "Think on that when you're begging for death." He walked out of the tent. As he went through the flap, he called out "He's yours now."_

_Oliver turned to see a large man, dressed in black body armor and a balaclava that was half gold, and half dark blue. He carried an uzi in his hand, wore a bandoleer across his chest with M433 grenades, a knife in his boot, and a sword slung across his back. Oliver wasn't paying attention to the weapons, however, he was looking at the man's eyes, the only human part he could see- eyes blacker than the body armor he wore._

Thea shivered at the sight of the man. Tommy put an arm around her, though it was more for his comfort than hers.

_The scene flashed back to Queen Manor. Workmen were busy setting up for the party. Thea was sitting out on the pool deck starring absently at the Hōzen Oliver had given her, lost in thought._

_"Hey, Speedy," Oliver called, poking his head out the door. "One of the workers left a keg too far from the you ask them to move it please?" he smiled and lifted his leg a bit, shaking the ankle monitor. "I got the ankle thingie. I don't want to set off a SWAT invasion." He joked. Thea gave him a devastated look. "Hey!" he said, coming out and sitting in the chair next to her. "All this stuff? It's going to be fine, I promise." He said sincerely._

_"Yeah, well, when you and dad left on the yacht, you promised me I'd see you in a few days." Thea pointed out sadly. "Which didn't happen."_

_"This is different than that." He countered. "I didn't do any of this stuff, you know that." He paused, seeing her hesitancy. "Right?"_

_"You're out all the time." She said sadly. "You have those scars, and since you've been back, you've been acting really weird."_

_"None of this makes me some Robin Hood wannabe."_

_"And you get me this." She lifted up the Hōzen. "I mean, it's an arrowhead."_

_"Oh, man." He sighed. "Thea, I bought that in the gift shop of the Beijing airport." He lied. Oliver smiled. "Now I'm sort of happy I didn't buy you the shot glass with the panda on it, 'cause then you'd be worried I was panda man." He joked, finally drawing a smile out of Thea._

_"You know, I knew you couldn't be this person." She chuckled. "I-I just… I can't lose you again."_

_"Deal." He agreed._

Thea smiled sadly, though a small part of her was angry with how easily Oliver lied to her.

_The scene changed to downtown Starling City. Moira walked into an office where Malcolm Merlyn sat, signing papers at his desk._

_"Moira." He said pleasantly, putting down his pen. "Thank you for coming on such short notice."_

_" you please make this quick?" she asked, "I'm in the midst of somewhat of a family emergency."_

_"Yes, of 's all over the local news." He chuckled."Possibly even national."_

_"Well, I know what you're thinking." Moira began._

_"Do you?" he replied, the smile still on his face but an edge to his voice._

_"My son is not the man targeting the list." She assured him. "The charges are preposterous."_

_"Not according to the district attorney, assistant district attorney, investigating detective in the police department that filed charges against him." He said harshly._

_"That detective has a vendetta against my family." Moira argued._

_"Why? Is there something untoward about your family?" Malcolm asked. Moira's eyes flickered to the second man in the room, Malcolm's bodyguard. Then she returned her gaze to Malcolm. "If so, something really needs to be done about that." He finished._

"You know dad, I have to know." Tommy said with an edge in his voice. "Were you born an asshole, or di you grow into it?" He glared at his father, who stared back coldly. He didn't say a word.

_The scene changed to the SCPD, where Oliver was hooked up to the polygraph. Laurel was seated beside him, while Quentin and the polygraph tech sat across the table._

_"Is your name Oliver Queen?" Quentin asked._

_"You don't know who I am, Detective?" Oliver joked._

_"The questions are to calibrate the polygraph. Is your name Oliver Queen?" Quentin demanded._

_"Yes."_

_"Were you born in Starling City May 16th, 1985?"_

_"Yes."_

_"Is your hair blue?"_

_"No."_

"But it would look good if it was." Felicity joked, trying to ease the tension. No one laughed. "No?" she asked, shaking her head. "Okay."

_"Have you ever been to Iron Heights prison?" Quentin asked, looking at Oliver._

_"No." Oliver replied calmly. Laurel looked over at him, surprise registering on her face for a moment before she schooled her expression._

"Something wrong, Counselor?" Slade asked.

"Oliver and I both went to Iron Heights as part of a field trip once." She said, troubled.

Slade smiled. "As I said, a properly trained man can fool the machine."

_Quentin pulled out the sketch of the Hood. "Are you the man in this picture?"_

_Oliver flashed back to his interrogation on the island by Fyers and Bill Wintergreen. "Where can I find the man in this picture?" Fyers demanded of Oliver, who was tied with his arms above his head to the support post in the middle of the tent. The masked man loomed menacingly behind him._

_Back in the present, Olive answered "No."_

_Quentin looked at the tech, who nodded, showing Oliver was telling the truth. Lance licked his teeth, then tried a different approach. "You steal 40 million dollars off Adam Hunt?" Quentin demanded._

_"No, I didn't." Oliver answered._

_"Were you marooned on an island called Lian Yu for 5 years?" Quentin asked._

_"Yes."_

_"How is that even relevant?" Laurel demanded, cutting in. Quentin glared at her._

_"I don't need to show relevance, but since you asked, whatever happened to your client on that island turned him into a cold blooded killer."_

_Oliver thought back to his torture on the island, of Wintergreen's sword cutting into his flesh as he screamed in pain._

Moira gasped in shock as she witnessed his torture, her hands covering her mouth as tears welled up in her eyes.

"Sweet Jesus…" Quentin said softly, watching the boy he had grown to hate withstand something he would never wish on anybody.

Thea and Laurel were also both crying, while Tommy watched, sickened at what his best friend had to go through. Diggle watched with a pained expression- he had known soldiers who had been tortured, and sympathized with the man. Felicity turned away, tears in her eyes, unable to watch.

Slade, oddly, felt a touch of remorse for the kid. He had felt Wintergreen's blade himself, and knew what Oliver was going through better than anybody in the room. And the Oliver in these memories hadn't yet betrayed **HER, **so he didn't feel bad at wishing the kid had never been through that.

Malcolm watched impassively. He had been trained to withstand torture in the League; he knew what the masked man was doing must be excruciatingly painful for the boy. And yet, he didn't seem to be talking at all. Malcolm found himself feeling proud of Oliver for having such strength within him.

_"The physician that examined you reported that is covered in scar tissue." Quentin stated coldly. Laurel glanced at Oliver in shock, the looked back to her father._

_"The machine won't work unless you ask a question." She said._

_"Did that happen to you there?" Quentin asked bluntly._

_His mind still on the torture, nevertheless Oliver managed to answer calmly "Yes."_

_"When you came back, you told everyone that you were alone on that island." Quentin noted. "Are you claiming that your scars were self-inflicted?"_

_"No." Oliver admitted. "I wasn't alone. I didn't want to talk about what happened to me on the island." He said._

_"Why not?" Quentin asked._

_Oliver looked at the man steadily."Because the people that were there tortured me." He admitted, to both Laurel and Quentin's shock._

_"Have you killed anyone?" Quentin asked._

_Oliver paused for a long moment, before looking back up at Lance."Yes." He admitted. Quentin's eyes flickered towards Laurel, satisfaction clearly evident in his eyes. He looked back at Oliver. "When I asked your daughter Sara to come on my father's yacht with me." The young man finished brokenly, the very tenuous grip on his control slipping briefly. "I killed your daughter." He admitted again. He tore the sensors off his body, ignoring the look of rage and pain on Quentin's face and the look of sadness on Laurel's as he stormed out of the room._

Slade paused the memory to allow the rest of the room a few moments to recover.

"Are you satisfied now, Quentin." Moira said angrily. "Are you happy that my son suffered for his sins?"

Quentin looked the woman in her eyes. "No, I'm not." He said truthfully. "And I'm sorry, for what its worth."

After a few minutes, Slade started the memory up again.

_After the door closed, the Tech looked at Quentin. "I'd have to study the data, but just eyeballing it, he's telling the truth." He stated. Quentin hummed noncommittally._

_"Can I assume that you'll be recommending Ms. Spencer to drop all charges against my client?" Laurel asked, rising from her seat. Quentin shook his head._

_"No." he said. "I know a guilty man when I see one. He is guilty, whether you can see it or not." Laurel glared at her father, and then stormed out of the room, leaving Quentin there with his thoughts._

_The scene cut to Queen Manor later that night, and Oliver's party was in full swing. Oliver himself came out, dressed in a faux prison jumpsuit, and hopped on top of the small stage that had been erected. He mimed to the DJ to cut off the music, which she did promptly._

_"Hi, everybody!" he yelled. The crowd yelled back in Lance looked up from the crowd in thinly veiled disgust. "I'm very touched that you came to celebrate with me before I am sent up the river! Closest neighbors are six miles away, so don't worry about the noise." He paused. "Actually, on second thought, let's wake those losers up!" The crowd roared and the DJ turned the music back on. Oliver jumped down and walked through the crowd, careful to stay on the pool deck lest Lance have a reason to arrest him (again). He walked over to Diggle._

_"If you think this is what prison's like, you are in for a rude awakening." He joked as the two headed back inside._

Tommy let out a small chuckle, and even Thea smiled slightly.

_Secured in Oliver's room, he showed Digg his phone, which was tied into the GPS tracker. "Mueller's car has been parked in the warehouse district of the Glades for 45 minutes." Oliver stated. _

_"Yeah, that's a good place for an arms deal." Digg noted. "Ok, since this is going down tonight, what do we do, drop a dime on Mueller with the cops?" he asked._

_"No, the man in the Hood." Oliver announced. "He's going to stop them."_

_"Oliver, you can't leave the house." Diggle argued._

_"It doesn't have to be me in the hood." He replied, giving Diggle a significant look. Diggle chuckled, more out of annoyance than amusement._

_"That's why you threw this ridiculous party? So you have a hundred witnesses placing you here at the house while I'm supposed to be across town dressed as a vigilante?"_

_"I thought that it was going to be good enough just for you to be seen in the hood." Oliver explained. "I didn't count on Mueller showing up and I didn't count on the possibility that the Glades could be flooded with machine guns." At Diggle's glare, he softened his tone. "Look. I promise, it was never my intention to put you in harm's way." He said apologetically._

_"Oliver, I didn't think joining your crusade was ever going to be risk-free." Diggle said after a moment. "I just don't like being played. Now you might have gotten used to lying to everyone else in your life, but I'm the one guy you don't lie to." He told him sternly. Oliver nodded in acceptance._

_"You're right.I'm sorry." He said sincerely. They stared at one another, and then Diggle walked past him. "So am I going to jail?" Oliver asked, a little desperation creeping into his voice. Digg turned to him._

_"No, man." He said. "I got to stop an arms deal."_

"Guess we'll see if my big head will fit in the hood." Dig joked, causing Felicity to blush.

_The scene changed to Queen Consolidated, where Walter was working late. His phone rand and he picked it up._

_"Hello?"_

_" ," the voice on the other end of the call said, "I'm sorry to bother you, is Mike Vogel down in security.I'm afraid I have some sad news for company's head of security, Josiah Hudson, was in a car accident 's dead, sir." Walter stared at the phone in shock._

Moira turned and looked at Malcolm, who merely raised an eyebrow in return.

_Back at Queen Manor, Oliver was getting a drink at one of the bars set up in the foyer. He turned around to see Laurel walk in the door_

_"Hello." He said pleasantly. "Do we have a legal meeting or something? Because I have friends over."_

_Laurel looked around in bemusement. "Do you think maybe you can tear yourself away from this inappropriately themed rave for a couple minutes?" she asked wryly._

_Oliver led her up to his bedroom "Wow." She remarked upon seeing it. "I can't remember the last time that I've been in this room."_

_"I can." Oliver replied instantly. "Halloween, were getting ready for Tommy's party."_

_"Ah, Yes." She remembered, walking into the room. "I wore those horrible fishnets."_

In the control room, Mia, Stephanie and Sara all laughed.

_"I thought you looked good." Oliver remarked, closing the door. They both smiled at the memory._

_"Listen," Laurel began, turning to face him. "I just wanted to come by and apologize for my father's behavior the polygraph."_

_"You don't have to apologize for him." Oliver said. "He has a right to feel any way that he wants."_

_"It wasn't just Sara, Ollie."_

_"What do you mean?" he asked. Laurel took a moment to gather her thoughts._

_"After Sara died, my father threw himself into his work.I think that's part of the reason I'm an attorney. He ran to the law and I followed. But my mother couldn't." she explained. "So she left him." She sighed. "Left us." She stepped closer to him. "Look, I'm not trying to tell you this to make you feel bad, or worse. I just-I really want you to understand him."_

_"Why don't you hate me?" Oliver asked plaintively. "You should."_

_"I did." Laurel agreed. "For so long, I did, after today, I realized that I was so focused on what happened to my family that I didn't even stop and wonder what could have happened to you." She exhaled loudly. "I didn't know about the torture, or your happened to you on that island was far more than you deserved. And I was wrong that I didn't ask you before, but I'm asking you now. I need to know .I need to see." she pleaded._

_"Are you sure?" he asked._

_"Yes." At her answer, he slowly undid the buttons on his shirt, but he couldn't bring himself to open it. Laurel did that, reaching up hesitantly and gently parting the shirt halves to reveal the scared tissue underneath. She gasped softly. "How did you survive this?" she asked softly._

_"There were times when I wanted to die." Oliver said truthfully. "In the end there was something I wanted more."_

_Slowly they came together, until finally they were kissing. It was at once both sweet and desperate, a fulfillment of a longing both had long ago resigned to the past._

_Laurel was the one to finally break the kiss. "No." she gasped, backing away, shocked by her own actions. She practically ran past Oliver. Grabbing her purse from the ground as she opened the door._

_"Laurel, you don't have to go." Oliver said, pain and sadness creeping into his voice, but she was already gone._

_The scene flashed back to Lian Yu. Oliver as hanging by his wrests limply, blood oozing from several deep cut inflected by Wintergreen._

_"Amazing." Fyers said. Oliver forced himself to open his eyes, glaring weakly at the man. "You have resolve I didn't credit you for." He complimented, then considered. "Or perhaps he truly doesn't know should put him out of his misery." He told his masked assistant. Wintergreen moved forward-_

_Then suddenly Yao Fei was there. He took down one guard and Fyers, fired one arrow that severed the rope holding Oliver up, sending him crashing to the ground. Then he shot an arrow at Wintergreen- who caught is mere centimeters from his face. He snapped the arrowhead off with his thumb and drew his sword, and the two went back and forth furiously for several minutes. Yao Fei was able to use his bow to block the sword, and finally managed to get one good hit in on the masked man's face. The Asian then pulled up Oliver and dragged him out of the tent._

The tension left Moira's body as she saw her son rescued.

_The scene shifted to the present. Down at the docks, Mueller was showing off his merchandise to a couple of gang bangers._

_"It's an M249 machine gun." He described, taking the weapon in question from his assistant and showing it off. "Gas-powered, air-cooled, fires up to 800 rounds per minute." He tossed it to the gang leader, who whistled in appreciation. Suddenly, the lights went out. Mueller looked around in alarm. He grabbed the gun out of the teen's hands. "We need to move, now!" he shouted, just as The Hood came out of the shadows. He took out the three gangbangers with fists and feet, finally catching the third in a chokehold and holding him until the boy passed out. Mueller and his men sped off in a Mercedes, leaving the tuck and his merchandise behind. With three gang members on the ground, Diggle looked around, satisfied._

"Nice work, Mr. Diggle." Tommy complimented.

"It's all in the wrist." Dig joked.

_The scene changed to Queen Consolidated. Walter was sitting behind his desk, steeling himself for the conversation that was soon to come. He looked up as Moira walked into the office._

_ "I'm not accustomed to being summoned to the office in the middle of the night." She began, putting her purse down on a chair, "Well, what was it that was so important that I had to race down here?"_

_"I found the 'Queen's Gambit', Moira." Walter said without preamble. A look of panic and fear flitted across her face. "I know you secretly had the boat salvaged." He went on. "I wanted to move it to a more secure location before confronting you about it. In fact, I sent Josiah Hudson to the warehouse for precisely that purpose." He took a breath. "But he died mysteriously in a car accident." He looked at his wife. "I hope you now have a better understanding of why it is I've been so distant of late." He continued as she took a seat. "It's very disconcerting to discover that the person with whom you share your home, your bed and your heart has been lying to you so convincingly, and I would be a fool not to consider all the things that you have told me were lies."_

_"Walter, you're my husband, I-" she tried, but he cut her off._

_"Yes, I am." He said coldly._

_"Walter, please." Moira stood. She looked pleadingly at her husband, "You've got to stop looking into this, it's not safe. You'll be-you'll be upsetting people, people with influence. You are very far out of your depth." She warned._

_Back at Queen Manor, Oliver was still holed up in his room when his phone rang. He answered it._

_"Man in the hood, one, gangbangers, zero." Diggle said. _

_There was a knock at the door. "Hang on." He said to the phone, then put it to his chest. "Yeah?"_

_"Mr. Queen," outside the door, Malcolm Merlyn's bodyguard, dressed as a bartender, was quietly attaching a silencer to his pistol. "If you're entertaining guests upstairs, should I have some drinks sent up?" he called through the door._

Tommy sat up in alarm as Thea and Laurel gasped. Moira glared at Malcolm, who watched impassively.

_"No." Oliver responded, getting up to rejoin the party. "It's just me up here and I'm on my way back down." Into his phone, he said quietly. "Good job. Now get back here." He went to open the door as he hung up his phone, and he was briefly startled by the bartender that was standing there. He was even more startled when the man brought his gun up. Acting on instinct, he grabbed the gunman's hand, forcing the gun away from his face, and punched him solidly on the jaw. He dragged the man into the room, quickly disarming him, but soon the man fought back. The two flew over the love seat and crashed through a coffee table, smashing it to bits. He tossed the killer across the room, inadvertently right to his gun. The man got up and was about to shoot Oliver when suddenly he was shot from behind by a charging Lance. The two men looked at one another in shock._

Tommy was about to leap off the couch at his father when another face leaned in, looking at the screen.

"Wow, that was a dick move." Stephanie Brown said. "I never really tangled with you, but I can see why everyone up here hates your guts." She looked over at Tommy. "Mia felt some people in hear might react badly to that, so she sent me in here to keep the peace. So you should relax, Tommy boy." She gave him a significant look, and Tommy reluctantly fell back into the couch. She looked over to Slade. "Continue, please."

_Later downstairs, Oliver and Thea were sitting on one of the couches in the sitting room, Oliver with an ice pack in hand. Tommy sat across from them in a chair. Lance was busy talking on his phone._

_"Yeah." Lance grunted into the phone. "Yep." He hung up and looked over at Oliver._

_"How did you know I was in trouble?" Oliver asked curiously._

_"Because when the guy was fighting you, he broke the ankle monitor." Lance responded truthfully._

_Just then, Moira and Walter walked in briskly. "Are you all right?!" she asked her son, panicked._

_"I'm fine."_

_"Oliver…"_

_"Mom. I promise." He assured her. That fear aside, she whirled around and pointed an accusing finger at Lance. "This is on you." She practically snarled. "By accusing my son publicly, you've made him a target."_

_"Do you have any idea who attacked Oliver?" Walter demanded._

_"We haven't identified him." Lance admitted. "Though it must be someone with a grudge against the Hood, obviously." Lance moved towards Oliver and removed the ankle monitor._

_"What are you doing?" Oliver asked as he did it._

_"I got a call from my lieutenant. An arms dealer was attacked across town tonight." He paused, and then said reluctantly "By the vigilante. Multiple witnesses put him there." He turned to Moira. "In light of that, all charges against your son are being dropped."_

_"I'm truly sorry for what's happened to your family, Quentin." She said softly, and then her voice hardened. "But would you kindly get the hell out of my house." It was a order, not a question._

_"Mr. Lance," Oliver called out. "Thank you." He said sincerely. Lance nodded in reply, and then left._

_The scene changed to the next day. Moira entered Malcolm's office as he was preparing to leave._

_"Moira." He said pleasantly. "Did we have an appointment?"_

_"No, but I decided to screw propriety after you tried to have my son killed." Moira shot back._

_Malcolm smiled slightly at the fire in her voice. "I'm sure you understand, I was justified in suspecting your son of being the vigilante targeting our associates." He explained calmly. "I had to take steps."_

_"And now that you know your steps were taken in error; that Oliver is not your enemy." She asked. Malcolm chuckled._

_"I offer my sincerest apologies."_

Slade laughed. "I like your style, Mr. Merlyn."

_Moira glared at him. "I know you found out I had the yacht salvaged, just as I know you had Josiah Hudson killed." She said pointedly._

_"Well, accidents tend to befall people who are too curious." He replied, equally pointed._

_"I've been the good soldier." She shot back. "I've done everything you asked. But if any member of my family so much as gets a paper cut, I will burn your entire world to ashes." She threatened, turning and walking out of the room. Malcolm smiled as she left._

"I am so ashamed to be your son right now, I can't even being to describe it." Tommy snarled. "And when we get back, I will see you in jail, if it's the last thing I do."

Malcolm smiled cruelly. "I would truly enjoy seeing you try, Tommy. But the sad fact is, I just don't think you have the spine for it."

Tommy moved to rise from the couch, but was held down by Stephanie. The blonde glared at Malcolm. "You know, my dad was an asshole with delusions of grandeur and a thirst for power. He wanted to rule Gotham's underworld. And I was a teen-aged slacker who hung with the wrong crowd and got knocked up before I turned seventeen. And you know what?" she smirked at Malcolm. "I got his ass thrown in jail so many times I lost count. That's why I used to call myself The Spoiler- because I spoiled so many of my dad's plans."

"Is there a point to this story?" Malcolm asked.

"Yeah. Your son is twice the person I was when I started. So don't count him short, or else you might be sharing a cell with Bubba sooner than you think." She sat back, releasing her grip on Tommy's shoulder. He glared at his father, but soon turned his attention back to the screen.

_The scene changed back to the Manor. As Oliver was picking through the wreckage in his room, he found the small leather pouch that contained his healing herbs. He sat back down on his bed and stared at the bag, remembering._

_Flashback to the island, where Yao Fei helps a struggling Oliver into the cave. He laid him down on the cot._

_"I tell you, island dangerous, but you not tell them where to find me." He said in admiration, "You stronger than I thought." He held out the leather pouch containing the herbs. "Take it." He said, and Oliver did so. "I lead them off, you stay." He moved to the cave' entrance. "Remember, breathe." He called back. "You breathe, you survive here longer."_

_Oliver struggled to get to his feet. "No! I'm coming with you!" he called out, just as Yao Fei triggered a large rock to fall in front of the entrance, hiding it._

_Back in the present, there was a knock on Oliver's door. It opened to reveal Laurel._

_"Rough party." He joked._

_"My father told me what happened." Laurel said. "Are you ok?"_

_"Yeah, I'm fine." He assured her._

_Laurel held up a white envelope. "These are your polygraph results." She said, stepping closer. "My father asked you if you'd ever been to Iron Heights." She continued. "It's the prison where the vigilante saved me last week. It's also where you and I went on our eighth grade field trip." She added. Oliver kept his face blank. "When you said that you had never been there, I thought maybe you were just nervous, or that you'd forgotten. But then I looked at your results, and there is a slight flutter in your answer to that question. And if you lied on one, you could have lied on others." She finished._

_"What happened to me being too selfish to be a masked crusader?" he asked coldly._

_"Oliver! I saw your scars!" she exclaimed. Oliver looked away, and then moved to stand right in front of her. Though he didn't look at her; instead he kept his eyes on the ground._

"Make up your mind, Laurel." Thea muttered.

_"Do you want to know why I don't talk about what happened to me there?" he asked. He finally looked right at her. "Because if people knew; if you knew… you'd see me differently. And not as some vigilante guy. As damaged." He sighed. "I don't sleep. I barely eat. I can barely sign my name, let alone aim a bow and arrow." He said emotionally, only partially lying._

_Laurel took a breath. "After last night clearly we're still attracted to one another." She said. "Oliver. Nothing can ever happen between us." She stated._

_"I know." He replied. She handed him the results, then turned and left._

_The scene changed to the lair. Oliver was moving his munitions crate to the top of one of the work tables._

_"So you lied to her." Digg said, then added, "Or maybe you just gave her a version of the truth."_

_"I told her what she needed to hear, Diggle." Oliver argued. "She was too close."_

_"Sad thing is, I think you actually believe that." Digg countered. "I think things didn't go down exactly how you planned."_

_Diggle's voice continued as we see Thea, seated at her desk in her room, looking over an article about Oliver. She looked over, then picked up the Hōzen, studying it. _

"I wonder how long it takes me to figure it out?" Thea wondered to herself.

"It might be a while." Diggle said. "He seems to be actually trying to hide his secret with you and your family."

_"You didn't count on so many people having questions, doubting you. You didn't think about what happens when you when you lie to the ones you love the most."_

_Walter was in the Foyer, pulling a wheeled suitcase that he handed over to his driver. "Thank you, Chris." He said as Moira, clad in her pajamas, ran down the stairs. "Walter?" she called, stopping halfway down the stairs. "What is this?"_

_"Business trip." Walter announced. "I decided it's long overdue for me to inspect our holdings in Melbourne."_

_Moira read between the lines. "And how long will you be?" she asked, trying to reign in her emotions and failing._

_"I don't know." He said sadly, then walked out to his car._

Moira closed her eyes, a pained expression on her face,

_Diggle's voice continued. "When you were stuck on that island plotting your grand plan to save the city, I don't think you stopped to consider the effect it would have on the people in your life."_

_The scene cut to a bar, where a very drunk Lance sat slumped over the bar, chewing on a straw. Laurel came in, spotted her dad, and walked over to him. "Let's go." She announced, helping him to his feet. Lance grunted drunkenly. "You're ok. No, no, no." Laurel said as Lance reached for his drink, downing the last of it before he allowed her to guide him out of the bar._

Laurel sighed as Quentin squirmed in his seat. He hated his weaknesses broadcast to everyone else.

_Back at the Lair, Diggle finished. "Or how it might hurt them."_

_"You're wrong." Oliver denied. "I think about it all the time. And just to be clear, not being able to tell my family the truth…it doesn't hurt anyone worse than it hurts me." He finished, opening the case and pulling out the hood._

_"Where are you going?" Diggle asked worriedly._

_"Mueller still has to sell those guns and I have to stop him." He said coldly._

_"Oliver-" Digg called out._

_"He had his chance."_

Thea winced at the tone in his voice.

_The scene changed to another warehouse down by the docks. Mueller was pitching his deal to another gang._

_"28 crates, four guns in each crate, $250,000 cash. Take it or leave it. That's the deal." He said. Then suddenly, The Hood- the REAL Hood was on them. He managed to take out the guards and the gang in under a minute, disabling them all with arrows and stiff blows. He finished and drew the bow back once more, his eyes locked on to Mueller's._

_ "Leo Mueller, you have failed this city." The Hood intoned, and then let loose an arrow, right into Mueller's heart._

**TBC 12/15**

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><p>AN: Does anyone else think it was utterly ri-goddammned-diculous that Thea never figured out Oliver was The Arrow? I was certain that she'd figure it out before the end of Season 2, but she didn't. And I hated that.

I had a devil of a time uploading and editing this chapter, so if there are any errors, it's because I just sped through it the FORUTH time.

Also- Arrow vs Flash this week. I cannot wait!


	8. Chapter 7: Legacies

**Disclaimer:** Arrow is owned by The CW, Berlanti Productions, and Warner Bros. Television. The character of the Green Arrow and the Justice League is owned by DC Comics. I own nothing; I'm just playing in their universe.

**Chapter 7: Legacies**

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><p>Stephanie rose and took the remote from Slade, then looked to Tommy. "You gonna be okay?" she asked. Tommy nodded. "Good." She said, walking over and handing him the remote. "Just remember," she told him quietly, "YOU are the better man."<p>

"Being the better man sucks." Tommy muttered. Stephanie smiled and rose.

"Oh, one more thing." She said suddenly, reaching into the pocket of her sweatpants and pulling out a small plastic pouch. She tossed it over to Felicity, who caught it awkwardly. "Compliments of the chef." Stephanie said. Felicity smiled wide as she was what it was.

"What is it?" Thea asked, curious.

"Freeze-dried ice cream! Real astronaut food!"

"I wouldn't exactly classify it as food." Stephanie warned with a smile. "I'm back in the control room. You all need anything, just holler." With that, the blonde walked out of the room.

Tommy sighed. "Well. Let's get this show on the road." He said, pressing play.

_The scene opens as 3 men in hockey masks, each painted with a different playing card, storm into a bank at midday. All three carried AK-47's, and one carried a jackhammer on his back. Ace of spades raised his AK-47 and fired several shots into the ceiling._

_"As Kanye says, get 'em high!" Ace of Spades screamed._

"Oh goodie, a bank robbery." Quentin said thinly.

Tommy chuckled and looked at Laurel. "This here's Miss Bonnie Parker. I'm Clyde Barrow." He started.

"We rob banks." Laurel finished, chuckling.

Thea looked at the two like they were crazy, then slowly slid as far to the edge of the couch as she could.

"That's dated, even for me." Quentin said, looking at the two oddly.

"It was a movie we saw at a drive in a few months ago, actually." Laurel said, blushing.

"How much of the movie did you actually see?" Thea muttered with a wicked grin.

_"You better move! Move! Nobody lift their head, nobody gets hurt!" King of Spades said, leading the people out from behind the counter at gun point, directing them to lay with the other customers on the lobby floor._

_"Get down! Get on the floor right now!" Jack of Spades yelled. The bank manager looked up at him._

_"You can't jackhammer into the safe." He said. "It's too thick."_

_Ace of Spades slugged him. "Shut up!" he snarled. He began pacing, watching over the hostages as the other two members ran into the open safe._

Quentin's eyes narrowed. "That guy is going to be trouble." He muttered.

_"We're through!" one of them yelled out. "We got three minutes!"_

_"Make it 2!" Ace called back._

_On the ground, one man was slowly reaching back to a hidden ankle holster. A woman who was on the floor next to him stared at him with panicked eyes._

_"Are you trying to get us killed?" she whispered._

_"Don't worry." He assured her, using his other hand to pull his jacket away far enough to show his badge. "I'm a cop."_

_"Please don't do anything." She pleaded, her voice getting louder. "I don't want to die. Please!" her pleading drew the attention of Ace, who looked at the cop coldly before lowering his gun and shooting him several times in the back._

"Son of a bitch!" Quentin shouted. He knew that cop.

_King came rushing out of the vault. "What the hell's going on?" he demanded._

_"He was a freakin' cop." Ace snarled. King shoved him._

_"Enough throwing shots." He ordered. Suddenly the sounds of police sirens could be heard._

_"You hear that?" King asked._

_"Someone triggered the alarm!" Ace raged, beginning to lower his AK once more. King shoved it up into the air._

_"Don't!" he ordered. "That's it. Let's go."_

_Outside the bank, the police were setting up a barricade. Detective Hilton raised a megaphone and began to speak._

_"This is the Starling City police department." He announced. "Lay down your weapons and come out with your hands up." There was silence for a moment, and then suddenly the front doors were thrown open and over a dozen of people rushed out, all wearing cheap copies of the robber's hockey masks. "Hold your fire." Hilton yelled. "These are hostages. Contain the hostages! All units move in! Move in!"_

"I've seen this movie." Tommy said. "Denzel Washington, 'Inside Man'. That lady was probably a plant from the crew."

Quentin rolled his eyes. "Yeah, sure."

_Hilton and a small squad moved into the bank, guns drawn. One of the officers stopped at the shot cop and checked for a pulse, which he found. He immediately called for an ambulance as Hilton and the rest moved further into the back. They made their way into the vault, where a hole had been cut in the floor._

_A block away, the robbers crawled out of an open manhole next to a waiting van._

_"Come here." King demanded, grabbing Ace's arm. "You shot a cop! This is not how we do things!"_

_"Me getting killed isn't how we do things, either, is it? Is it!" Ace demanded, pulling off his mask. King pulled his off as well, and immediately you could see the resemblance between the two men. "Get in the van!" he said, pushing his son onto the waiting van. He paused to look around to make sure there was no one watching. Seeing nothing, he closed the door, and the van sped off._

_The scene changed to the lair, where a shirtless Oliver was sparring with Diggle with escrima sticks._

"Well, hello there, Mr. Diggle." Thea said admiringly. "Screw my brother, you could be my bodyguard."

"Seconded." Felicity said.

"Mm-hmm." Laurel agreed."

Diggle sat back with a satisfied smile.

_The two moved in tandem, the sticks clanging loudly with each impact. Suddenly Diggle took a swipe at Oliver's head, which he easily ducked._

_"Anchor the rear hand, Diggle." He advised. "Come on."_

_"Ok." Digg responded, and the two started again, only for Oliver to quicken suddenly and smack the side of Diggle's jaw._

_"Uhh!" he exclaimed, touching his hand to his mouth._

_"Variable acceleration." Oliver explained, still circling his opponent. "Most fighters work at the same switch it up, you throw your opponent off his game."_

_"That was nice." Digg noted dryly. "Where'd you learn that?"_

_Oliver paused a moment before answering. "His name's Yao Fei." He said finally._

_"He give you those scars?"_

_"One of them."_

_"Any others?" At his silence, Digg pressed on. "You know, one day you're gonna be straight with me about what really happened on that island."_

_"Absolutely." Oliver said, and the two began again. This time Digg lasted six whole seconds before Oliver spun out of the way of his shot and took out Digg's knee. "But not today!" Oliver said jovially, walking away from the sparing area and back to his computer._

_"Still some pretty sweet moves." Digg noted, rising back to his feet._

_"Yep." Oliver said, pulling up a profile on his computer. "Tonight I'm gonna use them on him. Scott Morgan runs water and power in the Glades." He showed the screen to Diggle. "Jacks up the prices when people can't pay, shuts them down even in the dead of winter."_

_"Which is at least a month away." Diggle noted. "Look at this." Digg pulled up a news article showing the bank robbery. "These guys started at Keystone 3 years ago, then began moving west, hitting banks along the way. This morning they hit Starling City Trust." At Oliver's blank look, he continued. "Shot an off-duty cop. He's in a coma and the doctors are saying it's a coin toss whether he'll make it."_

_"If he's a cop, SCPD will be all over it." Oliver reasoned, turning his attention back to Scott Morgan._

_"Overwhelmed? Underfunded?" Digg argued. "Listen, these guys don't hit one time. They hit 2 or 3 banks per city, which means right now they're planning their next job."_

_"I think you have the wrong impression about what it is I do." Oliver said pointedly, starting down the bigger man._

_"You take out bad guys with a bow and arrow." Digg replied sarcastically, not backing down._

_"I don't fight street crime." Oliver explained. "That's a symptom of what's wrong with this city. I'm trying to cure the disease."_

_"CEOs and crooked entrepreneurs.I get it." Digg tried. "Listen, Oliver, I'm just saying, maybe you can make a difference if you think beyond the scope of those pages. I'm sure your father wouldn't mind."_

_"No, you don't get it." Oliver replied angrily. "My father died so that I could live. Live and make a difference by fixing the city that he and the people in this book ruined. Every name that I cross off this list honors that sacrifice."_

_"There's more than one way to save this city."_

_"Not for me." He replied coldly. "Crime happens in this city every day. What do you want me to do, stop all of it?"_

_Digg shook his head and walked past him, heading for the shower. "It sounds like you have a narrow definition of being a hero." He said as he passed._

"You really are trying to be his conscience." Laurel noted approvingly.

_Oliver never bothered to look back at the man but quietly he responded "I'm not a hero."_

**_FIVE YEARS AGO_**

_The scene flashed back to the cave. Oliver is laying by a small fire, trying to stay warm. The fire dims, so he tears a page out of his father's notebook, crumples it up, and throws it in._

Malcolm sat up straighter. 'He doesn't have a complete list!' he realized.

_He settles back down- but then is suddenly startled by a hand clamping down on his shoulder. Panicked, he staggers to his feet, only to se the last person he ever expected to see looking back at him._

_"Dad?" Oliver asked of Robert Queen, confused._

"Dad!" Thea said excitedly, but then slumped back down as she remembered how he had died.

Tommy put an arm around her. "Sorry, Speedy. But I doubt that's really him."

"Yeah, I know." she said sadly.

_**PRESENT**_

_The scene flashed back to the present at CNRI._

_"Please tell me that this is a nightmare and I'm about to wake up." Laurel said despondently. "How can Stagg Industries pull out completely? They're our largest donor."_

Laurel's face fell. "Oh, no…."

"I wouldn't worry too much, Laurel." Moira said. "After watching you work, I'd gladly put Queen Consolidated behind CNRI."

"And while you may not be enamored with me right now," Malcolm added, "I, too plan on offering a sizeable contribution."

Laurel's eyes narrowed. "I'd say thank you, if I didn't know you wanted to destroy The Glades anyway." She said evenly.

Malcolm smiled. "You do remind me of Rebecca." He said softly, then turned his attention back to the screen.

_"It's like they say—'It's the economy, stupid'." Joanna quipped._

_"No, it's the stupid economy." Laurel sighed. "Ok, without Stagg, how long can CNRI keep the doors open?" she asked._

_"It depends." Joanna said as they walked back to Laurel's desk. "What time you got?"_

_"I have fiesta time." Tommy joked, walking into the office towards the two women. "Or is it siesta time? Which one means a party and which one means a nap?"_

Laurel sighed. "Can't you ever be serious?" she asked, annoyed.

_Joanna shook her head and walked back to her own desk. Laurel sighed again, this time in annoyance. "Tommy, as much as I would love to relive 'Intro to Spanish' with you, today is not a good day."_

_"Of course in this tiny brick office is intolerable." He said as they walked over to her desk._

"Not that you would know what working in an office was like. Or working, for that matter." Malcolm said disapprovingly.

"And how do you get any work done? You must use most of your time plotting on who to kill next." Tommy shot back acidly.

Malcolm smiled thinly at his son. "Actually, that doesn't take a lot of time."

Tommy was about to say something else, but Laurel laid a hand on his leg. "It's not worth it." She whispered to him. Reluctantly, he returned his attention to the screen.

_ He leaned against a file cabinet. "Now, you know where is a spectacular place to spend the day? Coast City. Here's what I am thinking. Sunset flight on my private plane, dinner at Broome's, I'll have you home by midnight. Or maybe in the morning."_

_"What is this?" Laurel asked, half confused and half annoyed._

_"This is what we talked about." Tommy replied. "This is you getting to know the real me."_

_"Tommy, so you don't misunderstand, CNRI just lost its largest single donor." She explained. "Which means all of the hard work and sacrifices that I have made to help this legal clinic survive, it may have been for nothing."_

_Tommy looked at her, sitting at her desk despondently. "Maybe another ?" He said, then turned and left._

_The scene changed to Queen Manor, where Oliver and Thea were walking the halls._

_"I mean, haven't you noticed she's been acting a little down lately?" Thea asked her brother, then scoffed. "What am I saying? Of course you haven't."_

_"Well, who are you to judge? Since when do you pay attention to how mom's feeling?" Oliver shot back._

_"Since our stepfather suddenly decided to take a business trip halfway across the world." She replied as they headed down the stairs._

_"I think when someone at Walter's pay grade takes a business trip, it's always sudden, Thea." Oliver reasoned. "I wouldn't worry."_

_"Ah," Moira said, spotting her two children as she but some fresh flowers on the small table in the entry hall. "Guess who I just hung up with?" she asked. Oliver shrugged his shoulders. "Janice Bowen. Carter's mother." She explained._

Thea, Tommy and Laurel all groaned. Moira looked at them in bemusement.

_"Oh." The two said._

_"Carter Bowen. The perfect son." Oliver joked._

_"Is he perfect?" Moira asked teasingly._

_"According to you." He smiled. "Carter Bowen just won the national chess championship." He began reciting. "Carter Bowen is anchoring the debate team." He turned to Thea._

_"I'm sure I didn't make that big of a fuss." Moira objected lightly._

_"Oliver, Carter just got accepted into Harvard and Princeton." Thea continued._

_"Well, that's because Carter got a perfect score on his SATs." Oliver replied._

_"Now, how did he manage to study and cure cancer?" Thea wondered._

The room as a whole laughed- even Slade.

_"All right, all right, all right." Moira laughed. "I get it, I get it. Well, they're coming for brunch and I expect you to be there."_

_"I have plans." Oliver said immediately. Moira smiled._

_"That's fine." She said. "Brunch is tomorrow."_

_Thea smiled wickedly at her brother. "Hmm. Inches from a clean getaway." She mocked._

_"Well, you, too, Thea." Moira added, looking at her daughter whose face fell._

Thea groaned again.

"It's months in the future, Thea!" Moira exclaimed good naturedly.

"Yeah, gives you plenty of time to think of an excuse to miss that!" Tommy added.

"Stop helping, Thomas." Moira said sternly.

"Yes, ma'am."

"I have no desire to be around that big of a tool." Thea declared.

"How big of a tool could this Carter guy possibly be?" Felicity wondered.

"Actually kind of small." Laurel said absently. The laughter that she heard erupt down the hall suddenly reminded her where she was. "Uh…."

"Good to know." Thea snickered.

_"Snap." Oliver said. Thea shot an annoyed glare at him._

_"Nobody says that anymore." She groused._

_"What?" he asked, then shook his head and turned back to Moira. "Mom. I can't actually go."_

_Moira looked at Oliver seriously. "I haven't seen the Bowens in years." She said calmly. "So whatever it is that you have planned, I'm sure the two of you can make the sacrifice just this once."_

_Oliver sighed, thenset his shoulders. "We'll be there."_

_Thea gave a wan smile as she dropped her head, surrendering to the inevitable. Moira smiled at her two children and walked away._

_"I hate you." Thea told Oliver, not even looking at him before she too left. Oliver's phone rang._

"I really do…" Thea muttered.

_"Yeah." He answered._

_"You know your friend Scott Morgan from your father's list?" Digg said over the phone. "He tried to kill he was afraid of getting a visit from fast can you make it to Starling General?"_

_"On my way." Oliver replied, cutting the call. As he moved to walk out, Tommy walked in._

_"Hey, just the man I wanted to see." He said. "I just picked up a new sports car, and I'm thinking we can open her up, pick up a few speeding tickets-"_

_"That sounds great, but something's come up." Oliver interrupted, patting him on the shoulder. "I gotta jet." With that, he walked out the door to Tommy's disappointment and bewilderment._

_"Oh. Uh, okay. Nice talk. Thanks." Tommy shook his head._

_"He moves fast, doesn't he?"_

_Tommy turned to see Thea walking back into the foyer. He gave her a smile. "It's ironic, really, since you're the one we call Speedy."_

_Thea rolled her eyes. "Oh, please. For the love of God." She moaned. She gave him a compassionate look. "But if you need somebody to talk to, I'm here."_

_Tommy considered her offer. "You know, maybe you could help." He started. "There's this girl that I'm interested in. And I am really not sure how to pursue it."_

_Thea gave him a smile. "Have you tried using your usual lines? Hi, my name is Tommy Merlyn and I'm a billionaire, but I don't look like Warren Buffet."_

_" is aware of that, and she doesn't care." He said. Thea eyed him with interest now. "You know, money really isn't a big deal to her."_

_"Why don't you just tell her how you feel?" she asked._

Thea groaned. With distance, she could clearly see that they were talking about two different people.

_"Well, I've-I- I've known her for a long time, and I'm not sure the direct approach is really the right way to go." He explained._

_"Maybe you just have to figure out what's a big deal to her and make it a big deal to you." Thea suggested, a warm look in her eyes._

Tommy shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Unconsciously, the two siblings moved apart.

_"Yeah." Tommy pepped up. He gave her a kiss on the cheek. "You are amazing. Love you!" he called as he ran out the door._

_The scene changed to Starling General Hospital. Oliver got off of his bike by the ER and walked up to Diggle, who was standing next to a newly-arrived ambulance._

_"You sure?" he asked his body man quietly as he joined him. "Scott Morgan doesn't seem like the type who would try to kill himself."_

_"True, but it's the best lie I could come up with on short notice." Digg said as Stan Washington was pulled out of the ambulance on a stretcher. His wife followed shortly behind._

_"Mr. Diggle," she said, "I can't thank you enough for arranging to move my husband from County Ward to Starling General. Now I know he's getting the best care available."_

_Diggle smiled and indicated to Oliver. "You really should be thanking this man, Oliver Queen. He's paying the bill." He explained, more to Oliver than the distraught wife. He turned to Oliver, who was holding his anger at being played in check. "Jana's husband Stan is a police officer, who happened to have been making a deposit at Starling Trust Bank."_

Malcolm smirked. "Well done, Mr. Diggle."

"Hate agreeing with the man, but yeah." Tommy added. Diggle nodded to the two men.

_"The bank that was robbed." He said to Diggle shortly. He turned to Jana, sympathy now showing in his eyes. "I was so sorry to hear about your husband. Is he gonna be okay?" he asked._

_"The doctors say the next 24 hours are crucial." She said tearfully. She sighed. "He should have just kept his head down, you know?"_

_"I've known a few police officers in my day." Digg noted, looking at Oliver now. "Always willing to help others even if that means putting themselves at risk."_

_"Thank you." She said again._

_"You're welcome." Oliver replied, and Jana moved to walk next to her husband as he was wheeled in. Oliver turned to Diggle with a cowl on his face._

_"You lied to me."_

_Digg just gave him a look. "You asked me to work with you, not for you." He said plainly. "And when you did, you said it was because you understand the kind of man I am. Well, Oliver, I'm the kind of man who doesn't walk away when there's a chance to make a difference. And neither does Stan Washington." Oliver shook his head and walked back towards his bike. "Oliver, I'm not finished talking." He called after him. "Where are you going?"_

_"To go make a difference." He replied. "Let's catch some bank robbers."_

"Well… that was easier than I imagined." Dig admitted.

"Oliver is a good man," Laurel said. "He just needed a little push."

_The scene changed to the Lair, where Oliver and Digg were going over surveillance footage from the bank._

_"See that guy right there?" he indicated Ace. "He's got a temper."_

_"And he shot Officer Washington." Oliver noted, studying the frozen footage._

_"That's right." Diggle agreed._

_"College ring." Oliver noted, looking at Ace's raised hand._

_"Or high school, more likely." Diggle offered._

_"That ring will get us an I.D." Oliver decided._

_"Yeah, but even with photo enhancement, you're gonna have a problem getting a clear shot of that ring."_

_"No, but it left an impression the police would have photographed." Oliver said. "It'll be in evidence lockup." Oliver stood and walked back towards his munitions box._

Quentin looked impressed. "That's a good idea. And one we'd get to, sooner or later." He added grumpily.

_Digg sat back down and began to study the footage some more, then suddenly looked up. "Please tell me you're not going where I think you're going."_

_"Diggle, why do you even ask?"_

_Later that night, The Hood found himself sneaking into the police station, crawling in through an unlocked window. And moving stealthily through the halls. He was forced to hid briefly from Detective Hilton by bracing himself on the ceiling; once the detective was gone, he crept into the bullpen and hacked into the S.C.P.D.'s evidence files, saving it to a flash drive. Once that was done, he left as silently as he entered, the cops none the wiser._

"Son of a-" he caught himself, feeling more than seeing Moira's glare. Laurel stifled a laugh.

_The scene changed to CNRI the next Day. Laurel walked in to find Tommy leaning against Joanna's desk._

_"So, where are you gonna take me today? Monte Carlo?" she asked sarcastically._

_"Actually, I was just telling Jo here that the Merlyn Global Group is looking to expand its local philanthropy, and I thought that we could start by sponsoring a benefit for CNRI." He said with a smile._

Laurel glared at Tommy, who had a satisfied smirk on his face.

_"Thank you, Tommy, but I think we can manage without your family's finances." Laurel said frostily. Tommy's smile fell, and Joanna looked between the two._

_"Laurel, a word?" she asked her friend, pulling her away. "Come on. What are you doing?" She asked._

_"He's not interested in throwing us a fundraiser." Laurel hissed. "What he wants to have is the first annual attempt to get back into my pants gala."_

_"Who cares why he's doing it? We need the money." Joanna stated._

_"Not like that we don't." Laurel denied._

_"We really do." She reiterated. They both looked to Tommy, who flashed a hopeful grin. "So you're gonna listen to your best friend's advice." She continued. "You are gonna go over there and say, 'Thank you, Tommy, we'd be honored if you'd throw us a fundraiser'." She looked at Laurel expectantly._

_Laurel sighed in annoyance and turned back to her would-be suitor. "Thank you, would be honored for you to throw us a fundraiser." She deadpanned. Tommy gave a genuine smile._

Tommy sniggered. "Oh, shut up." Laurel said, a small smile on her face.

_The scene changed to the Foundry, where Oliver and Diggle were going over the forensic evidence from the shooting._

_"The bank manager Ace punched, his ring left a mark." Oliver stated, pulling up the picture. He ran the image through a few databases, and finally came up with a hit. "Larchmont High." He said, looking at Diggle. "High school." He noted, and Digg smiled. "I cross-referenced his height and relative age with a list of students and alumni."_

_"Still, that's a pretty long list." Digg noted. Oliver nodded._

_"It was." He said, pulling up another file. "I dug a little deeper and found Kyle Reston." The two stared at the picture on the screen. "Right before Kyle's senior year, not only did he drop out, he dropped off the grid. Along with his family- father, mother, younger brother."_

_"There are two other guys involved in this robbery." Digg said._

_"And a woman." Oliver pulled up the footage from the robbery again. "Aside from Stan Washington, there were 22 customers and employees that came out of the bank- 9 men, 13 women. Inside the bank, 9 men, 14 women."_

_"They put a ringer in." Digg realized._

_"The mom." Oliver agreed._

Tommy shot Quentin a satisfied smile. The detective groaned.

"Lucky guess." He muttered.

"Good movie." Tommy countered.

_"The police are looking for a crew, we're gonna look for a of which," he rose from the desk, "I'm incredibly late for mine."_

_The scene changed to Queen Manor, where Moira and Thea were entertaining the Bowens._

_"Well, I'm sorry Walter couldn't join us." Janice was saying to Moira. Moira shrugged._

_"Oh, yes, well, the Australian trip came up suddenly." She explained smoothly. "He sends his apologies."_

_"Where's Oliver?" Carter asked. "He's not out of town, too, is he?"_

_"Oh, I'm sure he's just-"_

_"Stuck in traffic." Oliver said, cutting off his mom as he strode into the room. "One of the things I didn't miss on the island- Sunday drivers." He smiled, and then gave his mother a kiss on the cheek. "Sorry I'm late." He told her, and then hugged Thea._

_"Thank God you're here." She whispered, relieved. They parted and all three Queens looked at the Bowens, all smiles._

_"It is so good to see you." Janice said, kissing Oliver on the cheek. "We all thought you were-"_

_"Oh, well, we are just happy he's home." Moira said, rubbing his back._

_He and Carter shook hands. "And returning a celebrity, too." Carter noted._

_"How do you mean?" Oliver asked pleasantly._

_"Billionaire scion, castaway for 5 years." Carter started as they took their places at the dining room table. "You know, there is a bidding war for the rights to your life story. At least that's what my agent says." He finished with a chuckle._

_"Agent? I thought you were a neurosurgeon, Carter." Oliver asked._

_"I know. It's crazy, right? One minute I'm publishing this book on how long-term potentiation initiates the creation of a slow-moving protein synthesis, and the next, there's an agent trying to make me the next Dr. Oz." Carter said, completely unaware how pretentious he sounded._

"Wow. He **is** a tool." Felicity said, munching on her ice cream.

"Bigger than you remember, Laurel?" Thea asked casually, causing the lawyer to blush scarlet and Felicity to choke on the freeze-dried treat.

_Oliver looked confused. "Why would he want you to be a wizard?" he asked, and everyone laughed._

_"Oh, Oliver." His mother said with a smile, shaking her head._

_Thea leaned into the table, looking at her brother. "For all our sakes, start reading Us Weekly." She advised. Oliver looked annoyed._

_"Well, the truth is, I just feel it's our duty as Starling City's more fortunate to help those most in need." Carter said._

_"Oh, of course." Moira agreed._

_"Wouldn't you agree, Oliver?" Carter asked the man. Oliver looked at him, a fake smile on his face._

_"You're the hero, Carter."_

_"So now that you're back, what are your plans?" Janice asked. "Will you be taking a job with Queen Consolidated?"_

_"I'm opening a night club." Oliver replied. Thea let out a surprised snort of laughter; Moira just looked surprised. Before anyone could say anything, though, Diggle walked in with a phone in his hand._

_"Sir, your liquor distributor's on the line." He said, leaning over to hand him the phone. With his back to the others, he whispered "First Bank of Starling was hit two minutes ago."_

_Oliver smiled pleasantly at the group. "Sorry," He said, rising from his chair, "business." He explained as he leftto Moira's disappointment._

_The two walked out into the foyer. "If the Restons' M.O. holds, they'll make their escape underground." Diggle explained softly. "First Bank of Starling is located right above the water treatment tunnels. The entrance is located here." He handed the phone to Oliver who studied it for a moment._

_Moira strode out of the dining room towards her son. "Oliver." She said sharply. "Where are you going?"_

_Oliver looked back at his mother with not a little sadness. "Something's come up." He said shortly. "I'm really sorry." He said as he and Diggle walked out, leaving an angry and hurt Moira behind._

_The scene changed to First Bank of Starling. Hilton and his cops pulled up outside. Instead of going into the bank, though, they found the entrance to the service tunnel under the bank several feet away and went inside. They made their way in just as the three Reston's were making their way through the tunnel._

_"SCPD! Don't move!" Hilton screamed, gun drawn. Ace lifted his AK-47 and opened fire, causing he cops to duck for cover._

_"Enough!" King shouted, pushing his son behind cover as the police opened fire. "What are you doing?!" he demanded of Ace as he continued to fire on the cops._

"Ace is out of control." Lance noted. "He wants to kill someone."

_The Hood made his way down the hall, staying in the shadows and out of the line of fire. He spotted one back of cash on the ground and fired a special arrow at it. Upon impact, six thin but highly durable wires came out of the tip and bound secured the bag to the ground. He fired another, conventional arrow at Ace, knocking the gun out of his hands._

"Nice shot!" Thea said, impressed.

_"Let's get out of here!" Jack yelled, even as a third arrow knocked the bag from his shoulders and secured it to the ground like the first. Ace ran to the bag and tried to break the cables; he couldn't._

"Clever trick." Malcolm said approvingly. He'd have to look into an arrow like that.

_"Forget it!" King yelled, pulling his son from the bag._

_"The cash!" Ace wailed._

_"Let's go!" King shouted, hauling his son away and towards their exit. The Hood watched them leave, but before he could pursue, he heard the cops behind him._

_"All right, let's move!" Hilton yelled to his men. Suddenly he spotted the Hood. "It's the vigilante!" he called out. The Hood spun and fired an arrow into an electrical box, shorting out the lights. Then he melded into the shadows, even as Hilton and his men continued to search for the robbers, and him._

_The scene changed to the next day at Queen Consolidated. Oliver had borrowed Walter's office, and sat across from Felicity as Diggle perched on Walter's desk._

"Yay! I'm back" Felicity said happily.

_"I should add "personal Internet researcher for Oliver Queen" to my job title." Felicity mumbled out loud as she opened up her laptop. Oliver cleared his throat lightly and she looked up and smiled. "Happily, I mean." She assured him as she pushed her glasses back up._

_"His name is Derek Reston." Oliver told her. "We were close before I went away. And I want to get back in touch."_

_"I guess you didn't have Facebook on that island." She said as she ran the search._

_"Nope. Not even a MySpace account." Digg joked. "It was a very dark time."_

_Felicity finished her search and started going through the data. "Well, there's not much here that's recent. No credit activity. No utility bills." An old image of Derek Reston's Staff ID card popped up. "Well, I guess you guys must have met at the factory." She guessed._

_"Wait. What-what factory?" he asked, leaning forward._

_"The Queen Steel Factory." She replied. "Derek Reston worked there for 15 years until it shut down in '07."_

_"Derek Reston worked for my father?" Oliver asked, surprised._

Felicity sighed. "And he was doing so much better this time." She said. Thea snickered.

_ "You weren't really close friends, huh?" she noted wryly. Oliver gave her a look, and she continued. "It looks like Derek was the factory Foreman until your dad outsourced production to China. About 1,500 employees got laid off. Looks like the finance guys even found a loophole in the union contract, so, they didn't have to pay severance packages and pensions to their employees. They all pretty much lost their homes. Including your friend." She finished, looking him in the eye._

_**_FIVE YEARS AGO _**_  
><em>**__**_

_The scene flashed back to the cave, where a stunned Oliver stood across from his father._

_"You died." He whispered._

_"I asked you, I begged you to survive." Robert stated. But if you don't think you can…" he stepped up to Oliver, pulling the gun out from behind his back. He held it out to his son. "There's still one bullet left." He told him. Oliver reached out for the gun. "But, Oliver, my death is made meaningless by yours."_

_Oliver took the gun, held it in his hands, looked at it. He looked up at his dad. "I'm starving. I'm gonna die anyway, and I just want it to be quick. I want it to be quick, like yours was."_

_"You can survive this." Robert pleaded._

_"No, I can't. I'm not as strong as you think I am. And I'm sorry." He put the gun to his temple…_

Moira stifled a sob, and Thea lowered her head, quickly wiping away the tear that had suddenly appeared.

_**PRESENT**_

_The scene flashed back to QC. Oliver and Diggle were heading out of Walter's office towards the elevators._

_"The Restons just got home after 5 years of being away." Oliver was saying to Digg. "Those factory guys hung out at a bar after work. I'm going down there. Hopefully Derek Reston wants to take a stroll down memory lane."_

_"And if by some miracle Reston's there?" Digg asked._

_"I'm gonna give him the chance to do the right thing." He replied, waiting for the elevator._

_"Oliver, he already had his chance to do the right thing. It's called not being a criminal."_

_"This is happening because of my father." Oliver said plainly. "Because of my family."_

_"No." Diggle argued. "You're worried about the wrong thing. It's not your fault. The Restons aren't the victims."_

_"My family stole from this city." Oliver explained. "They hurt the people in it. And I am hell-bent on making that right." The elevator door opened, and Oliver stepped in alone. "For Derek Reston, that means giving him the chance to make it right."_

"The kid does have a noble streak, does he not?" Slade noted.

_The scene changed to CNRI, where Tommy and Laurel were pouring over details for the upcoming fundraiser._

_"Hey, don't fade on me now." Tommy said as Laurel sighed. "We have about 10,000 more decisions to make." She smiled at him; he smiled in return. "Now, cake- chocolate or mocha?"_

_"Mmm….Carrot." she decided._

_"Are you sure about that? Because Bugs Bunny hasn't RSVP'd yet." Tommy joked, and they both laughed quietly. Laurel looked him over, a serious look in her eyes._

_"Tell me, why the full-court press? Asking me to Coast City, the fundraiser- why now?" she finally asked._

_Tommy let out a long breath, gathering his thoughts. He leaned back in his chair and began. "You know, I was in a bar last week, and I was talking to this girl, and things were progressing, if you know what I mean."_

_"No. You're too subtle." They both laughed again, but the smile quickly fell off his face._

_"Anyway, we finally go back to her place, and I realize all of a sudden- That I'd been there before." He sighed. "Been with her before. Two years ago. Just didn't remember. So I left." He leaned in, elbows on the table, a small smile on his face again. "You know, I remember some of the mornings when you and I were together and I made you omelets." Laurel smiled at the memory. "And I'd be in your kitchen and I would think to myself, this isn't just fun. This is more than fun. This is this is different. I never felt that way with anybody else. And I miss it." He ended, leaning back in his chair. The two stare at each other for a moment before Tommy went back to the fundraiser papers._

_"Not mocha. Carrot."_

_"Carrot." She agreed._

Laurel glanced over at Tommy speculatively, who was steadfastly refusing to meet her gaze. He was, however, blushing.

_The scene changed to a bar in the Glades. Derek Reston was finishing up a game of poker with some of his old coworkers. Everyone was smiles and handshakes as Derek started gathering the deck up and the men got up._

_"Ok, fellas. Thanks for playing." Derek said with a smile. He absently shuffled the deck, but looked up when someone took the seat across from him._

_"Mind if I sit in?"_

_Derek looked across coldly at the younger man. "Oliver Queen. The prodigal son returns." He declared. "I didn't figure you for someone who would hang out in the Glades."_

_"My father used to bring me here after we visited the factory." Oliver said wistfully. "There was a Pac-man machine in the back. I had the high score for two months."_

_Derek gave him a grim smile. "The last time I saw your dad, he was making a speech, telling my crew not to believe all the gossip, that there was no way Queen Consolidated was moving production to China." He land in closer. "A week later, they closed the doors. I didn't even get the two weeks vacation pay due to me."_

_"My father made mistakes." Oliver stated simply. "He hurt people. When people are hurt, people are in trouble, they tend to make the wrong choices. Right, Derek?" Derek leaned back, considering the man before him. "But those choices don't have to define you, they don't have to define who your family will be, because there's always one moment when you can turn it all around." Oliver continued. "If my father had another chance, I think he'd do things differently. But time ran out for him."_

_"How poetic." Derek spat. "That doesn't help me get my house back, now, does it?"_

_"No, it doesn't." Oliver granted. "No, all I can offer you is an apology and a job. Queen Consolidated has subsidiaries all over the country. I make one phone call, you start next week. So what do you say?" he offered._

_Derek seemed to consider it for just a moment, before his face hardened once more. "How about I still have some pride left? I don't need charity from the son of the man who screwed me over."_

Diggle shook his head. "It's a nice idea, but a man like Reston…."

"Reston isn't the problem. His son is." Quentin declared. "Derek might take that deal, but Kyle is too greedy."

_"Ok. If you change your mind…" he pulled out a business card. Oliver stood and moved next to Derek. "You and I have one thing in common." He stated. "We're both dealing with the consequences of my fathers' actions. What he did then, that's on him. What we do now," he placed the card on the table in front of the man, "that's on us." As he walked past, he dropped a small bug into the pocket of his jacket._

_Later that night, Oliver sat in the lair, listening to the conversation Derek was having with his wife._

_"I've been thinking, baby, maybe you were right. Maybe it's time to hang it up, retire." He was saying_

_"But Kyle says we do one more or he'll go out on his own." His wife argued._

_"Well, if that's what he wants to do, that's his right, but you and me and Teddy, we're out."_

_"I want to quit, too, but I am not leaving without Kyle."_

_"What's this?" Digg asked as he came into the lair._

_"I dropped a bug in Derek Reston's jacket."_

_Digg looked at Oliver. "I thought you were going to give the man a second chance."_

_"That's what I believe in." Oliver replied. "I also believe in covering all my bases."_

_"Derek, we can't abandon our son. After all this time, he wants to end up a winner. Set for life. Otherwise what was the point?" she asked._

_"All right." Derek said. "One more." Oliver turned off the recording and sighed._

Quentin sighed as well.

_"Now what?" Digg asked._

_"We take them down."_

_The scene changed to a swank downtown ballroom where Tommy had set up the CNRI Benefit Gala. Outside the doors, Oliver was handing Diggle a radio with earpiece._

_"We monitor the Reston's with this." He said as Digg put the earpiece into his ear. "When you get a line on their plans, we move."_

_"And you're gonna do another abrupt exit?" Digg asked._

_"I'm getting better at it with practice." Oliver replied with a smile._

_Inside, Tommy was talking to the hostess. "Honey, keep the alcohol flowing." He told her. He turned and saw Laurel walking in. He smiled widely at her. "I can't-wow." He stumbled as she came up to him, a smile on her face as well. "You look just really lovely."_

_"Lovely." Laurel noted with a teasing voice. "Well, it's nice that you've extended your vocabulary from words like hot and mega hot."_

_"You can just say thank you, you know."_

_Laurel smiled at him sincerely. "Thank you. You know?"_

_"You're welcome."_

_"Tommy." Joanne came up to the two. "This is wonderful. It means the world to us." She assured him. He smiled, and then saw someone he recognized._

_"Oh, God. Excuse me, just for a second." He said, moving off towards the coat check._

_Joanne turned to Laurel. "So?"_

_"You were right." She told her friend._

_At the coat check, a smiling Tommy came up to the newly arrived Thea Queen. "Thank you for coming." He told her, kissing her on the cheek._

_"Thank you for inviting me." She replied, smiling._

_"Well, I figured the entire Queen family and their checkbooks should be present."_

_"Oh, right. And how is that going for you so far?" she asked._

_"It is going amazing. And all thanks to you." He assured her. "You know- Thea Queen, the unlikely voice of reason."_

_"Little old me? What did I do?" she asked._

_"You gave me that great advice." He replied. "I thought about what the girl was interested in, and, uh…" he turned, looking at Laurel. Thea saw where he was looking, and instantly her heart broke._

Thea dropped her head in embarrassment. "Oh, boy…"

"I'm really sorry…" Tommy started, but she waved him off.

"No, I'm glad you did it for Laurel. Because if you did something for me, I would have jumped you within five minutes."

"Well, there's something I never want to think about." Malcolm said dryly. Moira nodded in agreement.

_"And you did this for Laurel." She said shakily. Tommy didn't notice._

_"And it's working. Thanks again, Speedy." He bumped her gently on the shoulder. She gave him a brittle smile._

_"Yeah. Anytime." She said, then as soon as he was away, found the roving waiter, grabbed a glass of champagne, and downed it._

Moira sighed. "Oh, Thea. Drinking won't solve anything…"

"No, but knowing Tommy was my half-brother would have helped." She replied sarcastically.

_Tommy walked back over to Laurel. "Oh, Tommy," she said, "do you remember Carter Bowen from high school?"_

"How could I forget?" Tommy muttered.

_Tommy faked a smile. "Oh, yeah, sure I do." He shook his hand. "So glad you could make it."_

_Carter nodded. Then turned back to Laurel. "It's so great to see you. You look amazing." Tommy's smile became even more forced as Carter continued. "I gotta say I'm so impressed with the work that you and CNRI are doing."_

_"Thanks, Carter." Laurel replied kindly._

_"You know, I've actually been thinking about starting a free clinic down here in the Glades."_

_"Really?" Tommy said. Carter nodded, and then turned back to Laurel. "Can we grab a couple drinks and I'll tell you what I'm thinking."_

_"That sounds great." Laurel said. She smiled at Tommy as Carter led her away. As her back turned, the smile slowly fell off his face, a look of melancholy replacing it._

"And there I stand, oblivious to the eye…"

"Relax, Tommy." Laurel said with a smile. "It's a fund raiser. I'm required to schmooze."

"Yeah, she's totally not tooling around behind your back." Thea said with a smirk. Laurel sputtered in indignation as Tommy laughed.

_Oliver spotted his mother at the bar and headed towards her. "Hi." He said, coming up next to her. Moira glanced at her son, and then looked back at the bartender._

_"Excuse me." She said politely, and then turned back to Oliver. "Well. I'm surprised you made it tonight, given your hectic schedule."_

_"Mom, I messed up with the Bowens yesterday." Oliver said, not unkindly. "I made you a promise, I couldn't keep it."_

_"Well, it's nothing new for you, Oliver." She shot back. "I know you and I have had our difficulties, but despite all my many mistakes, I always thought that you and I had a connection. So can you imagine, just imagine, after being granted the miracle of having my child returned to me that you seem to have little or no interest in being with me or telling me the truth." Before she could continue, Diggle came up to Oliver. She glared at him._

"Bad timing, man." Tommy said to Dig.

_"Ma'am." He said politely, and then turned to face Oliver. "Redwood United Bank. They're gonna try a nighttime hit." He said quietly, and then moved off. Oliver steeled himself, sighing internally as he looked at the disappointment on his mother's face. "I have to go. I'm sorry-"_

_"No, don't bother apologizing." She sighed. "Honestly, Oliver, there are times when I wonder why you bother coming home at all."_

"Ouch." Felicity said, wincing.

_The scene changed to Redwood United Bank. Derek and Kyle, in their masks, made their way into the bank and knocked out the guard while the other two family members waited in the van. The two laid a mall charge on the vault and blew it, destroying the lock and opening the vault. Once inside, both men lifted their masks and began to fill bags with money._

_"3 Minutes" Kyle said._

_"OK." Derek replied. They worked in silence for several seconds, but then a loud sound from the lobby caught their attention._

_"You hear that?" Kyle asked his father. After a few seconds of listening, he said "I'll check it out."_

_"Alright." Derek agreed, going back to loading money in the bags. Kyle took the safety off his gun, picked up a surprise, and cautiously walked out into the lobby- where he saw The Hood._

_"Kyle Reston." The Hood growled, firing off an arrow. Kyle lifted the surprise- a plastic riot shield that blocked the arrow._

"Smart idea." Diggle noted reluctantly. Quentin nodded in agreement.

_"I came prepared." He snarled, firing his AK. The Hood dived over the counter, out of the line of fire. Inside the vault, Derek dropped the money, lifted his AK and pulled down his mask, heading out to check on Kyle. In the lobby, Kyle was looking over the counter for The Hood, but saw no one. He turned around- just in time to get an arrow in the shoulder. Kyle grunted in pain, then used the edge of the shield to break off the shaft of the arrow. He threw it to the ground in disgust and blocked a second arrow with the shield. Kyle charged at The Hood, ramming into him with the shield and forcing him back through several glass partitions to the far wall. The two started fighting, with The Hood pelting Kyle with blows from his bow which he blocked with his riot shield._

_In the lobby, the guard finally came around. Seeing what was going on, he reached for his pistol, only to find it wasn't there. He scrambled to his feet and ran into the security office to grab the shotgun. He came out just as The Hood knocked Kyle down to the floor._

_"Freeze!" she shouted, pointing the gun at The Hood._

_Oliver held up a placating hand. "No, hey, I got this." He started, but just then Derek Reston ran out of the vault, his gun level and ready to fire. The Hood spun and shot an arrow, knocking the gun from his hands just as Kyle grabbed his fallen AK. He got to his feet, raising the gun towards the guard._

_"Drop your weapon! Now!" The guard shouted, and then fired._

_"No!" Derek yelled, diving in front of his son and taking the blast to his chest. The Hood disarmed Kyle, flipped him to the ground, and then smashed him in the mask with his bow, knocking him out. Oliver got up and looked towards Kyle, while the guard stood, stunned, not knowing what to do._

_ "He's bleeding out." The Hood said, moving to kneel next to Derek. He looked up at the guard. "Call an ambulance. Now!" The guard nodded and made his way back into the security office. _

_"Kyle! Kyle." Derek gasped out._

_"He's okay." Oliver said, lowering his hood so that Derek could see his face. "He's just knocked out."_

_"It wasn't his fault. I turned my son into this." Oliver closed his eyes, remembering…_

_**_FIVE YEARS AGO _**_  
><em>**__**_

_Oliver pulled the trigger; the gun clicked, empty._

Moira and Thea both jumped, surprised by the flashback.

_Frustrated he threw the gun to the ground._

_"Of course it doesn't work." Oliver said, realization dawning. "I'm hallucinating. Or I'm dreaming."_

_"But if you weren't… you betrayed me, Oliver." Robert said, disgusted. "I died so that you could live, and you threw that gift away. You made that sacrifice empty."_

_"I'm not you." Oliver argued. "I'm not. I'm not strong like you. I never was."_

_"I told you, I'm not the man you think I am. The things I've done. What I was about to do." Robert said._

_"Dad, what does that mean? Please?" Oliver pleaded. "I don't know what that means."_

_"I told you. I begged you. Right my wrongs!" Robert sighed. "This is your responsibility now."_

_"How? How do I do this? I can't even get off this island."_

_Robert came over to his son and put his hands on Oliver's shoulders. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you the truth about me. But I hope… I hope that you know that I love you."_

__**PRESENT**__

_The sounds of sirens drew Oliver back into the present. On the floor, Derek Reston died. Oliver looked at him sadly, then pulled up his hood and made his way out of the bank just as SWAT made their way in._

_The scene changed back to the CNRI gala. Tommy was sitting at the bar, sipping on a bourbon and watching Laurel dance happily with Carter Bowen with sad eyes._

_"Did you know that as a doctor, I was able to diagnose myself as a giant tool?" he said mockingly as he took another sip._

Laurel turned to Thea and pointed a finger in her face. "Don't say it!" she said in mock anger.

Thea smirked, then her face fell. "Oh look, Drunk Thea is back!" she exclaimed sarcastically. "Let's all watch Drunk Thea make an ass of herself."

_Suddenly a very drunk Thea came over and leaned on his shoulder._

_"How about a dance, handsome?" she asked, liquor on her breath. Tommy hastily put down his drink and stood._

_"Hey, uh, I thought that we agreed that you were going to call me before you did something stupid." He said concerned. Thea scoffed._

_"You're no fun." She said, putting her arms on his shoulder, her fingers locking behind his head and pulling him closer. "I'm going to show you how to have some fun."_

_"Whoa, whoa!" Tommy hurriedly pulled her hands off his head, moving back slightly. "What are you doing?"_

_"You said I was amazing."_

_"Yeah, you are amazing," he agreed, "but you're also like my sister. My baby sister." He emphasized._

Both kids winced at the unintentional truth in that statement.

_"Well, I'm not a baby anymore." Thea replied drunkenly, a frown on her face. "Thank you for noticing." She looked past Tommy and saw Laurel dancing with Carter Bowen. "Laurel doesn't even like you! She doesn't understand you. I do. Why can't you just see that?"_

_"Thea." Tommy took a breath, then took her gently and started leading her towards the coat check. "Thea, it was a mistake to talk to you about girls and stuff." He said. "It was inappropriate, and I think it may have confused you."_

_Thea spun out of his grasp to face him. "Yeah, the rejection? It is pretty clear." She slurred. "Even if it wasn't, between my mom and Oliver and everybody in my entire life, I'm pretty much used to it by now, so…" she turned back towards the coat check, and rand head long into a waiter, causing him to drop his tray. The loud sounds of breaking glass and clanging metal drew everyone's attention._

_"Whoa, whoa." Tommy said, gently taking Thea once more. "Ok, let's go, let's go. Come on."_

_A few minutes later, Laurel walked out of the building to the back alley where she'd seen the two head._

_"Tommy?" she called out. He was leaning against his car, his jacket off, watching over Thea as she puked against the wall._

_"Yep." He replied, glancing her way._

_"Is Thea okay?"_

_"Oh, yeah, she just ate some bad crab cakes." Tommy lied smoothly. Laurel didn't buy it for a second._

_"Are you sure it wasn't something she drank?" she asked wryly, her arms crossed. Tommy cleared his throat._

Thea shifted in her seat, studiously ignoring the looks she was getting from both Moira and Malcolm.

_"Don't worry. I got this." He assured her. "You can go back inside, keep having fun. Looked like you were having a nice little do-si-do with the good doctor."_

_"Tommy, I'm going to let you in on a little-known secret about Dr. Carter Bowen." She leaned in close. "The man is a gigantic ass." Tommy smiled. "And the only reason why I danced with him is because he wrote a massive check to CNRI. Why would you think anything else?"_

_"I guess when it comes to you, I tend not to think straight." He replied honestly._

_"Can you call me a cab?" Thea asked weakly, stumbling over to the two lovebirds._

_"Absolutely not." Tommy replied, opening the passenger door of his car. "I am taking you home. Get in."_

_"I apologize for making such a scene." She told Laurel as she climbed into the car._

_"Just feel better, okay?" the older woman replied as Tommy closed the door. As he moved around the car, Laurel called out, "Hey, Tommy."_

_"Yeah?" he asked, walking up to her._

_"I owe you a dance."_

_Tommy smiled. "Yeah?"_

_She kissed him on the cheek. "You earned it." She whispered, then turned and hurried back into the building, though she shot a flirtatious grin over her shoulder as she did so._

Laurel and Tommy smiled at one another across the couch. Thea rolled her eyes.

_Tommy smiled back, and then climbed into his car._

_"Please don't hate me." Thea asked timidly. Tommy gave her a look full of understanding and compassion._

_"No, no. Never." He assured her as he started the car and drove off._

"Thank you, Tommy." Moira said warmly to the young man. Even his father, grudgingly, gave him a nod of approval.

Tommy shrugged his shoulders. " I should have been there sooner."

"Better late than never." Thea said softly, leaning in to his shoulder.

_Back in the lair, Oliver was sitting, mostly in the dark. Diggle walked up to him._

_"What went down wasn't your fault." He assured the younger man._

_"I didn't say it was." Oliver said, not meeting the other man's gaze._

_"Oliver, it wasn't your fault, man." He repeated. "You gave Reston a chance. That was more than he deserved."_

_"I'm not so sure about that."_

_"Well, listen, I'll tell you this much." Dig pressed on. "You say going after the guys on that list is the way you honored your dad? Well, if your dad could have seen you this week, the way you cared about the people he had hurt, the way you stepped up to try to help them, I'd say he'd be pretty damn honored." He looked down at Oliver. "So maybe there is more than one way to save this city?"_

_After a few moments, Oliver nodded and looked up at the bodyguard. "Maybe."_

_Dig nodded and moved to leave. He stopped and looked back. "By the way, Stan Washington woke up." He told him. "He's going to be fine."_

_Oliver nodded, and then retreated back to his thoughts._

Moira gave the bodyguard a grateful smile, which he returned.

_**_FIVE YEARS AGO _**_  
><em>**__**_

_The scene flashed back again to the cave. Oliver, who had been sleeping, shot awake, breathing hard. The dream of his father had rattled him. Shaking his head, he noted the dying fire. Oliver picked up the notebook and tore another page out. He reached over, letting the paper hover just over the flames. He was about to drop it in when something caught his eye. He pulled the piece of paper back and saw writing suddenly appear, as if my magic. Curious, he took the book, opened it, and held the open pages high over the flames for a few moments. As he pulled the book back, more writing started to appear. It was a list of names. He gazed at the names, and then came to a realization._

_"My responsibility." He whispered to himself. "I promise, Dad. I promise."_

Malcolm's eyes narrowed. Even in death, Robert would still be hobbling his plans. Perhaps Oliver could be convinced to join him? He frowned. But first, he'd have to convince everyone in this room.

_**PRESENT**_

_Back in the present, Moira was pouring a drink in Queen Manor. Oliver walked in, dressed in his business suit, and leaned against the doorframe._

_"Nightcap?" he asked quietly._

_"Well, I thought it might help me." She replied. "I-I don't sleep well alone." She sighed and turned to face her son. "I'm sorry about what I said tonight."_

_Oliver shook his head. "No. You were being honest." He said, walking into the room._

_"No, not entirely." She disputed. "The truth is, with Walter being gone, I'm… I'm lonely." She walked up to him. "You know, you and I used to talk. I used to know what you were thinking. But now, even when you're home, you're somewhere else." She sighed, "I- I guess I just miss my son."_

_"I miss you, too." He replied honestly. "And I wish that…" he trailed off; trying to put into words how he felt. Suddenly, he had an idea. "Are you hungry?"_

_The scene changed to Big Belly Burger. Oliver and Moira were sitting at a table as a waitress brought them their orders of hamburgers, fries and milk shakes. Moira, ever the proper lady, picked up her knife and fork and started to cut into the burger, but was stopped by Oliver's hand that he gently placed on hers._

_"Mom- It's okay to get your hands dirty every once in a while." He said, smiling. "For me. Please."_

_Moira smiled at him and dropped the utensils. "All right." She said, picking up the burger with her hands and taking a large bite. "Mmm." She moaned in appreciation._

_"Mm-hmm." Oliver echoed, chewing on his own burger._

_"Mmm, yeah." Moira said, indicating her burger. "That is a great burger." She smiled at Oliver. "Thank you for this."_

_"Anytime." Oliver replied._

_"You know," Moira started, a teasing smile on her lips, "I'll bet Carter Bowen doesn't know where to find the best burger joint in Starling City."_

_"So I have one thing on him." Oliver said with a smile._

_"No." she patted him gently on the arm. "You have everything on him."_

Thea smiled. "Well, that's got to be the first time I've seen you eat food with your hands."

"I wasn't always a prim and proper lady, you know." Her mother replied.

"Yeah, well just remember that when you're deciding how to punish me for things I haven't done yet."

Laurel took the remote from Tommy. "No, she'll be punishing you for things you've already done, but we haven't seen."

"And if you haven't seen them, how would you know I did them?" Thea asked with a sweet smile on her face.

**'I could provide detailed memories of those events you're denying, you know. **Mia's voice sounded over the intercom.

Thea scowled as the others laughed. "I really hate that woman."

"Must be a masochist." Laurel joked, pressing play when the screen showed the next memory had loaded.

** TBC NEXT WEEK!**

* * *

><p>AN: do you have any idea how hard it was to write that last scene in the restaurant and NOT have it come off as some kind of dirty sex talk? Oh my god….

A/N 2: I've gotten some reviews from ::Guest::. I'm glad you like my story, but if you want me to respond to you anymore, PLEASE sign up for an account. It takes five minutes, and its free. Anyway, I've received criticisms from him/her and others about Thea killing Slade.

Let me be clear- this will be addressed in chapter 27: The Secret Origin of Mia Dearden in more detail. For now all I will say is that the Slade she killed was older, slower, and had no mirakuru in him, while she had spent years at that point being trained, first by Malcolm, then the League of Assassins. In the League she would have trained with multiple teachers, INCLUDING Ra's. And finally, after she became a hero, she would have trained with Diana and the Amazons to broaden her techniques. It's like Oliver told Barry- if you want to survive, you never stop learning.

A/N 3:So I;m sure everyone is looking at this chapter in confusion. I thought it wouldn't be up until next week, you're saying to yourselves. Well, here's the deal:

I currently have the entire first season in the can. And I just finished transcribing Episode 9 of Season 2, which I may have to break into two separate chapters. So instead of finishing transcribing, I'm going to back and finish those 9 chapters, leaving me with over 30 weeks of story already written. And so I've decided, because of the overwhelming support and adulation's I've received from YOU, I will switch to a weekly posting schedule. That means I'll just have to work harder at finishing this story before I catch up with myself; it also means that there will be less time for me to start on 'A Future Imperfect', the sequel. But as that is almost a year away, I think I'll be safe.

Thank you all for your support, and keep coming with the reviews!


	9. Chapter 8: Muse of Fire

**Disclaimer:** Arrow is owned by The CW, Berlanti Productions, and Warner Bros. Television. The character of the Green Arrow and the Justice League is owned by DC Comics. I own nothing; I'm just playing in their universe.

**Pre-A/N:** There is a note at the end regarding the mid-season finale of Arrow. If you haven't seen it yet, don't read it. Actually, if you haven't seen it yet, why the fuck are you reading this? Go watch it!

**Chapter 8: Muse of Fire**

* * *

><p><em>The scene opened up with Oliver driving his Ducati downtown. He pulls to a stop in front of Q.C. and pulls off his helmet, answering his phone at the same time.<em>

"_Hello?"_

"_Hi." Thea said over the line. "Mom said I'm supposed to remind you to pick her up for lunch."_

"_Was I supposed to have lunch with her today?" Oliver joked._

"_She said she left you like 5 messages." Thea sighed, lounging on a couch at home. "Just bite the bullet and have a Cobb salad with the woman."_

Moira shot her daughter a look. Thea just shrugged in reply.

"_You know, Thea, sometimes it's difficult to remember which one of you is my mother." He tapped off the Bluetooth headset and looked at the front doors, where his mother and another man were exiting._

"_Mrs. Queen, all I'm asking for is a chance to sit down and discuss our proposal." The man begged, talking and walking to try and keep up with the woman._

"_If that's all it is, then I can save us both the time." She replied, finally stopping to look at the man. "It's rejected."_

"_I see. May I ask why?"_

"Because he's mobbed up to the eyeballs?" Quentin ventured. Moira nodded in reply.

"Say what you want about Malcolm's list," she said, "But it is extremely useful in pointing out who not to do business with."

_Moira gave the man a look. "Do I really need to answer that, Mr. Copani?" she saw Oliver on his bike across the street. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm meeting my son for lunch."_

_Oliver waved at his mother to let her know that he had seen her, but suddenly the sound of another motorcycle caught his attention. He looked over his shoulder to see a rider, dressed all in black and riding a Harley Davidson jump the curb. The rider pulled out a gun and aimed it at Moira and Copani._

"_Get down!" he shouted, jumping off his bike. Too late, the other rider opened fire, hitting Copani several times in the chest. As he fell back, he crashed into Moira, and both tumbled to the ground hard. The biker took off just as Oliver crossed the street. Ignoring the rider, he went to his mom._

Thea shrieked in terror, seeing her mother laying there. Laurel looked at Moira, then got up and gestured for her to take her seat. Laurel went and sat next to her father, while Moira sat down next to Thea after the siblings had scooted down. Moira took her hand and held it tightly.

"_Mom? Are you okay?" he asked her, looking her over for any wounds._

"_I'm all right." She gasped out. _

"_Are you hurt?"_

"_No, I'm-I'm-" She saw Mr. Copani lying dead next to her, and quickly turned away._

"_Are you sure?" Oliver asked again._

"_I'm fine." She assured him._

"_You're sure you're fine?" at her nod, he stood and yelled at an oncoming security guard. "Call 9-1-1!" With that order, he took off through the plaza, running after the biker. _

"Where the hell is he going?!" Thea demanded.

"He's trying to run down the shooter." Malcolm said, hoping to ease his daughter's distress. "He wants to make sure he won't be a threat to Moira again."

"He should have stayed with mom." Thea mumbled, leaning in to her mother's side.

_He ran parallel to the bike, dodging cars as he crossed the street. He saw the bike turn on to a side road, and ran down an alley. As he ran, he grabbed a piece of rebar in a dumpster and, timing it perfectly, threw the rebar like a spear, damaging the bike's rear tire as it went past. Before he could pursue, though, a large semi's horn blared and he stopped millimeters from being hit as the semi sped past. By the time the truck cleared and Olive could get a clear look, the bike was gone._

"Nice shot." Slade noted. "Bad luck with the truck, though."

_The scene changed to Starling General Hospital. Moira was in a private room getting checked over by her doctor when Thea led Oliver into the room. "Hi." he said to the doctor, moving next to his mother's bed. "Are you okay?" he asked._

"_I'm fine." At his look, she repeated "I'm fine." Moira looked to Thea. "Did you reach Walter?"_

"_No." the girl replied quietly, leaning against the doorframe. "I'm sorry."_

"_As I was telling your mother and sister, the CAT-Scan showed a grade two concussion." The doctor explained. "She can go home so long as someone stays with her just to make sure there are no after effects."_

"_Thank you." Oliver said. After the doctor left, he looked sheepishly down at Moira. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have left you." He said. "I thought you were fine."_

"_What did you think you were doing anyway?" she asked. Oliver took a breath._

"_Yeah, I wanted to get the license plate of the guy who took a shot at you." He lied. Moira gave him a look._

"_Well, that was foolish." She said._

"_Yeah." Oliver agreed, then leaned down and hugged her._

_A short time later, Oliver left Moira's room. Thea followed closely behind, once again leaning against the doorframe._

"_So did you get the license plate?" she asked coldly._

"Yeah, you're pissed." Tommy noted.

"_No." Oliver said. "He got away."_

"_Maybe you should spend a little less time trying to be a hero. You're obviously not very good at it." She spat._

_Oliver forced a grin. "That's cute."_

"_I wasn't trying to be." She replied instantly. She stared at him with cold, angry eyes. "You left her on the street, alone and hurt. In the street." She repeated, and then scoffed. "To get a license plate?"_

_A chill went down Oliver's spine, and he stepped forward, adopting an innocent, hurt look. "You don't believe me?" he asked._

"_I love you." She affirmed. "Mom loves you. But it's getting hard when you won't be truthful with us." With that, she turned and went back into the room, closing the door in his face._

"Okay, that was a bit harsh." Thea admitted, calming down some. "Accurate, but harsh."

_Oliver closed his eyes, burying the hurt deep down, before turning to leave. As he walked down the hall, Detective Lance and Hilton appeared._

"_Detectives." He greeted. "Do you have any leads on the shooter?"_

"_Not yet." Hilton said. "Did you get a good look at him?" he asked. Oliver shook his head._

"_No. He was wearing a helmet."_

"_Don't worry. We'll find him." Hilton promised._

"_My head of security is on his way." Oliver continued. "I want to make sure there are men outside my mother's door. She needs to be protected."_

"_Well, you know your family's at the tippy-toppy of my list of priorities," Lance said sarcastically, "but the guy that she was with was connected, mobbed up to the eyeballs connected. She wasn't the target." Oliver looked at the man, and then walked past the cops down the hall. "And you're welcome." Lance finished needlessly._

"Do you have to be such a jerk?" Laurel asked.

"I can't help it. He brings out the best in me." Quentin replied.

_The scene changed to Laurel's apartment, where she was busy working on her laptop. A knock at the door caught her attention, and she rose to get it. Upon opening the door, she found Tommy holding a bag of take out, standing next to a delivery boy holding a pizza box._

"_Technically I did get here like 10 seconds before this guy." Tommy joked._

_Laurel smiled, then handed the delivery boy a wad of cash. "Keep the change." She said, taking the box from him. The boy left, and Tommy walked in after Laurel. "So, Tommy, what brings you by so late?" she asked._

"_Well, I assumed, rightly, that you would be at home working tonight," he started, "And I also assumed that you might be hungry." He noted the box. "Also rightly."_

"_I don't know." Laurel held up the box. "This is a mushroom and olive pizza from Mario's."_

_Tommy made a show of wincing. "That is damn good pie."_

_Laurel put the box down on the table. "All right, what do you have to offer?"_

_Tommy held up the brown bag. "Spicy tuna on crispy rice from Toro's."_

_Laurel's eyes narrowed. "Ohh. Damn you, Merlyn." She grabbed the bag. She headed to get some plates, then turned and looked at Tommy. "I hope Sushi was all you had in mind."_

"_Uh, actually, there was something that I wanted to ask you." He started nervously._

"_And what's that?"_

"_Will you go out with me?" he asked. "Like on a date."_

Laurel looked over at Tommy in amazement. "Now you want to go on a date?"

Tommy shrugged. "Obviously I'm trying to spice things up."

"Can we go back to the shooter now?" Thea asked. "Because I have no desire to witness my brother's love life."

_Laurel raised an eyebrow. "You brought me dinner to ask me to dinner?"_

"_Well, I also did throw you a really big charity gala."_

"_See, I thought you threw it for the hundreds of people it would benefit."_

"_Yeah, yeah, yeah. Hundreds of people. Plus one more." He joked._

"_Tommy…" she laughed._

"_Laurel, I get it." He moved in front of her. "Okay, this is all happening for us in the wrong order. You know, first we're friends for many years, and then briefly we are friends with benefits, extremely excellent benefits." Laurel blushed. _

Thea groaned.

"_And now I am just hoping that we can be two people sitting at the same restaurant at the same table at the same time." He smiled. "See, when I say it like that, it doesn't sound so scary, does it?"_

_The scene changed to the Lair, where Oliver was taking out his frustrations on a training dummy._

"_Oliver, your mom was nearly killed." Diggle said, coming into the lair. "I think you can take a day off from training."_

"_My mother wasn't the target." Oliver gasped, moving away from the dummy and dropping to his chair at the desk. "This man was." He indicated a picture on the screen. "Paul Copani. He was trying to close a deal with her when they were shot at. Copani works for Bertinelli Construction and Frank Bertinelli."_

"_The mob boss?" Dig asked._

"_I did some Diging." Oliver said. "Copani isn't the first member of Bertinelli's crew who's been hit."_

"_You did some Diging?" Dig asked, unbelieving._

"Boy has a one-track mind." Diggle noted.

"_Bertinelli has a lot of enemies. The best way to figure out who's trying to target his organization is to get inside of it." Oliver sat back in his chair as Dig continued to stare at him in disbelief. _

"_So let me get this right, Oliver." He began. "Your mother's shot at, nearly killed, and the way you process this emotionally is by going undercover with the mob."_

"Well, when you say it like that…" Felicity said.

"_I'm not trying to process anything emotionally." Oliver denied._

"_Yeah, well, maybe that's your problem, man." Dig retorted. "You ever thought about just being there for your family?"_

"_I tried that today with Thea." He started, his frustration finally showing. "She told me I wasn't being honest with her, and she's right. I can't very well explain to her that I left our mother alone and bleeding on the pavement because I'm fast enough to almost run down the attacker." _

This time, Thea winced.

_He turned back to the computer. "But what I can do is protect my family. And, Diggle, when I found out who this guy is, he's a dead man."_

_The scene changed to a garage across town. The rider rode the damaged Harley in, the rolling door closing behind her. She got off the bike and went up to a corkboard filled with pictures and, taking a sharpie, put an X through Copani's. The woman pulled off her helmet to reveal the face of Helena Bertinelli, and she stared at the picture of her father, loathing in her eyes._

Malcolm's eyes widened in surprise. Tommy noticed. "Someone you know, Dad?" he asked coolly.

"That is Helena Bertinelli." Malcolm said. "Frank Bertinelli's daughter."

Tommy blinked. "Wait, didn't that Copani guy work for Frank Bertinelli?" he asked, confused.

"Yes." Malcolm said. "And I have no idea why she would want to kill him. All that would do in the long run is hurt her family."

_The scene changed to Queen Manor the next night. Thea was dressed to kill, walking down the stair when…_

"_Speedy!"_

_She looked over to see Oliver, dressed in a business suit, walking down the opposite stairs. "Where you going?" he asked._

"_Clubbing." She replied. "Which is difficult to do when you're in a house and not in an actual club."_

_Oliver had the decency to look somewhat abashed. "I have to go out tonight. I thought you'd be watching mom."_

_Thea stared at her brother. "I spent the whole day with her. I thought you were taking the night shift."_

"_I'm sorry, but this thing, it's important."_

_Thea crossed her arms and shook her head in annoyance. "You know, sometimes, Ollie, I just don't get you. And by sometimes, I mean ever."_

"_You're actually not the first person to say that to me today." He said with an apologetic smile. Thea didn't return it._

"_Why am I not surprised?" She said as Tommy walked in the door._

"_Oh, nice dress." He complimented her. "Where you headed?"_

"_Upstairs. Apparently." She ground out as she turned and walked back upstairs. _

Moira raised an eyebrow. "I'm sorry I'm such a chore." She said archly.

"Well, if I had known what he was doing, I would have been a lot more understanding than that." Thea replied in defense.

**No, you wouldn't. **Mia said.

"Oh shut up." Thea grumbled.

_Tommy looked to Oliver. _

"_Long story." Oliver whispered, heading into the sitting room to get his car keys._

"_Hey, I heard about your mom." Tommy started. "Is she all right?"_

"_She's resting upstairs. More shaken up than anything." He smiled tightly at his friend. "I got to run to this business thing, but I do appreciate you stopping by."_

_"It's no problem." Tommy assured him. "Just so long as your mom's all right."_

"_Yeah." Oliver nodded, walking past him._

"_Hey, one more thing." Tommy said, stopping Oliver in his tracks. "Mainly because I don't want you to find this out from someone else, that someone else especially being Laurel." He paused for a moment, gathering his courage. "We're going to dinner. As in a date." He clarified. _

"_That's good." Oliver finally said, a smile plastered on his face. "Laurel deserves someone special, and so do you."_

_Tommy smiled. "Thanks, man."_

"_I gotta run to this thing." Oliver said, heading out to his car._

"_All right. Absolutely. I'll catch you later." Tommy said. _

_Oliver paused and turned back to his friend. "Oh, and, Tommy, if you hurt her, I'll snap your neck." He said deadpan. Then he smiled. "I'm just kidding." Tommy let out a laugh of his own as Oliver left._

Tommy gulped, because he had the distinct impression that he **wasn't** kidding.

_The scene changed to the Bertinelli residence. Oliver rang the doorbell, and moments later a man opened the door. Oliver smiled._

"_Mr. Bertinelli." He said with a smile, extending his hand._

"_Call me Frank." He replied, shaking Oliver's hand and leading him into the house._

"_Call me Oliver." He countered with a smile._

"_Thank you for agreeing to meet me at my home." Frank started._

"_My father used to say that living rooms make the best conference rooms."_

"_Oh, I'm gonna steal that." Frank said with a small laugh. He indicated a tall gentleman standing nearby. "Nick Salvati, my associate." _

"More like his heavy." Quentin said. He wanted to pay extra close attention to this. Maybe there would be something he could use to take down Bertinelli when he got back.

"So, his Luca Brasi?" Felicity asked.

Quentin shook his head. "No, more like his Sonny Corleone. He'd be the one to take over after Frank- the mob's still heavily patriarchal." He explained.

"_How do you do?" he said, shaking the man's hand._

"_Let's have a drink." Frank said, leading the way into the study. As they walked, movement from upstairs caught Oliver's eye. He looked up to see Helena walking past the stairs. Their eyes met briefly before she moved on._

"What's the over/under of Oliver sleeping with her?" Laurel asked.

Thea scoffed. "You really think that Oliver would... yeah, he would." she finished with a sigh.

_The scene shifted back to Queen Manor. Thea and Moira were in Moira's bed in their pajamas, with Thea controlling the remote while Moira flipped through magazines._

"_So what are you in the mood for?" Thea asked her mother. "We could watch reality housewife cooking show… or 'Cop Docs'." She looked at her mom and explained, "It's where doctors run around fighting crime when they're not all sleeping with each other."_

"I actually like that show." Laurel admitted, earning a grin from Thea. She had relaxed considerably now that she knew her mother was out of danger.

"I was always fond of 'Diagnosis: Murder'" Malcolm said absently. He noticed everyone staring at him. "What? I watch TV occasionally."

"Yeah, when he's not planning to destroy parts of the city." Tommy grumbled.

"Sometimes during." Malcolm said archly. "It's called multitasking."

_Moira laughed lightly. "Whatever you want, sweetheart. You're the one who's given up your evening out."_

"_Oh, it's not like there's anybody else who could be staying with you." Thea said, then gasped in mock surprise. "Oh, wait, yes, there is."_

"_Don't be too harsh on your brother." Moira advised. Thea looked at her._

"_Why not?" she asked. " I mean, aren't you getting sick of his lies?"_

"_Thea, everyone has secrets." Moira began. "We all have things that we want to keep to ourselves."_

"_I just don't get him sometimes." Thea groused. Moira pulled her closer. Thea leaned her head against Moira's shoulder._

"_I know, I know." She affirmed. "You know, being in that hospital and seeing Dr. Lamb again, it made me remember the day that Oliver came home. It was Dr. Lamb that told me that the Oliver we'd lost might not be the Oliver that they'd found." She explained. "I think it's easy to forget, but he lived apart from civilization for 5 years."_

"_So what, he gets like a free pass?" _

"_No. No, no, no, not at all. I just think we need to stop judging him for the Oliver he was and start accepting him for the Oliver that he is." Moira said softly._

"That's good advice." Diggle told the woman. "War changes a man; they're never the same after they get back. But sometimes we forget that." Moira nodded in understanding.

_The scene shifted back to the Bertinelli residence._

"_So, Oliver, I'll be honest with you." Frank was saying, handing Oliver a drink. "I was surprised to hear from you. It was my impression from the local news that you weren't going to be involved with your family's business."_

"_Well, apparently there were a few catch phrases that I missed while I was away for 5 years. One of them being 'lame-stream media'." The three men laughed. "The press never gets anything right."_

"_Oh, I know a thing or two about that." Frank assured the man. Nick's phone rang, and he got up to answer it. Frank leaned back in his chair and stared at Oliver confidently. "So, Oliver, I'll be blunt. I want the contract to build Queen Consolidated's new Applied Sciences Division."_

"_And I am inclined to give it to you." Oliver assured him._

"_Your mother wasn't quite so enthusiastic." Frank noted. "How is she, by the way?"_

"_She's recuperating at home." Oliver said. "Thank you."_

"_What a terrible thing that happened." Frank said sincerely. Oliver nodded._

"_And Frank, I was very sorry to hear about what happened to Paul Copani."_

"_Paul was a good friend." Frank stated. "He was a good man." He sighed, rubbing his eye. "Yeah. The violence in this city. You know, sometimes I wonder why I stay." He said, taking a drink._

"_I've had the same thought." Oliver confided._

"_So why did you come back?" Frank asked. "After that island, you could have settled anywhere in the world."_

"_Because Starling City is my home." Oliver replied simply._

"_Chi si volta, e chi si gira, sempre a casa, va finire." Helena said, entering the room. "No matter which way you go or turn, you always end up at home." She translated. Oliver and Frank rose._

"_Oliver, this is my daughter Helena." He introduced. _

"_Hello." Oliver said. Helena gave him a polite smile._

"_Nice to meet you." She said, and then turned to her father. "I'm heading out."_

"_All right. Take one of the guys with you."_

"_I can take care of myself." She protested. _

"_I wasn't asking, sweetie." He replied, touching her lightly on the chin. Before she could argue further, Nick came back in._

"_Frank, that meeting you requested. They can do it." He told his boss, giving him a significant look. "Now."_

"_I can come back another time." Oliver started, but Frank shook his head._

"_No, no, no." he put his drink down, and then looked at his daughter thoughtfully. "Just, uh.. just excuse us for a moment, would you? Thank you."_

_Frank and Helena walked out into the Foyer, followed by Nick. "Oliver Queen." Helena harrumphed. "The rich man's Lindsay Lohan."_

Tommy snorted; Thea and Laurel both chuckled.

"_Look, um…" he started, "I've got to go to this other meeting, but I need someone to take him to dinner."_

_Helena gave him a disgusted look. "So you pimp out your daughter."_

"_No. I ask her to help me close a business deal." He countered. "A reminder that the family business is dying and that we need this contract, and Oliver Queen can give it to us. Please, Sweet Pea. For us. For me. Hmm?" she finally gave him a reluctant smile. "That's my girl." He said warmly. Just then Oliver walked into the foyer. "Oliver, I'm so sorry. Something has come up. But Helena would love to take you to dinner and discuss the deal further." He said, indicating his daughter._

"_Oh." Oliver didn't try to hide his disappointment. "I was hoping to speak with you."_

"_Well, as you speak for your family, my daughter also speaks for ours."_

"_It's…It's really not necessary." He looked curiously at Helena. There was an attraction there, and possibly something deeper. A look deep in her eyes that he recognized and that she, in turn, recognized in him._

"_It would be my pleasure." She lied._

"_Sure." Oliver finally agreed. Rank held out his hand, and Oliver shook it._

"_I look forward to working together." He told the younger man, patting him on the arm as he and Nick left._

_The scene changed to the Bertinelli Construction Yard. China White and her associates got out of her Mercedes and walked up to Frank and Nick, who stood waiting. _

"Oh, goodie. Crazy Asian lady is back." Felicity noted.

"_Thank you for coming." _

"_Anything for a friend." China White replied. Her associate spoke in Mandarin, and she translated. "We're not responsible for the attacks on your people."_

"_These attacks on my business, on my family's life blood- they stop now, or I'm coming for you." He threatened. The four stared at each other for a moment before the two Asians headed back to their car._

"_What does the Triad have to gain by provoking you now?" Nick asked Frank. Frank shrugged._

"_Well, no one ever credited the Triad with rational thinking." He noted, and then asked "If not them, then who?"_

Malcolm leaned forward, his eyes narrowed. What was Helena's endgame?

_The scene changed to the SCPD, where Lance and Hilton were listening to the wiretap of the construction yard. 'Whoever it is, when I find out who's behind this, there will be blood.'_

"_Sounds like Bertinelli's ready to put the screws to everyone who pays him protection money." Hilton noted._

"_Yeah, well, 3 of his best earners have been murdered." Lance replied. "He's gotta make up the cash somewhere. Whoever is pruning the family tree is looking to make Bertinelli suffer." Lance got up and looked at the board that detailed Bertinelli's operation._

"_So you do think it's one of the other families." Hilton guessed._

"_No." Lance said._

"_Then who?"_

_Lance turned to look at his partner. "Well, according to the coroner's reports, none of the vics took a clean shot. Half the bullets missed." He shook his head. "Our killer's not a pro."_

"_That's not stopping him from pulling that trigger." Hilton stated._

"_That's up to us." Lance turned back to the board. "Or this is gonna blow up into an all-out mob war."_

"Why would Helena target her won family's business like that?" Quentin wondered.

"Vendetta." Slade said suddenly.

"What?" Quentin looked up at the man. Honestly, he was so quiet that sometimes he forgot he was even there.

"She is looking to make her father suffer as much as possible." Slade explained. "She is burning his world down around him, so that he knows only true despair. And when he is at his lowest, she will reveal herself to him, and then more than likely kill him."

Malcolm studied the man. "That's an interesting hypothesis."

Slade smiled. It was a smile that sent shivers down most of the other's spines. "It is something I have given a lot of thought to over the years."

_The scene changed to a small Italian restaurant. The owner, Mr. Russo sat Oliver and Helena at a small table in the corner and passed them menus. _

"_You are an angel, Helena." Mr. Russo gushed "So beautiful. Well, we are gonna take good care of both of you tonight. You'll tell your father hello from us?"_

_Helena smiled at the man. "Of course, Mr. Russo."_

"_I'll give you a minute." He said, moving away._

"_Thank you." Helena said. She looked at Oliver. "I heard about your mother's accident. Is she gonna be okay?" she asked._

_Oliver smiled, picking up his menu. "She's gonna be fine. Thanks."_

"_I'm glad." She said sincerely. They both took a moment to look at their menus. "So, why would you want to go into business with my father?" she asked suddenly. "You know who he is and how he made his money."_

"_You don't approve of your family's enterprises?" he asked._

"_We share a name, and that name defines us whether we want it to or not." She gave him a brittle smile. "You've already made judgments about me, just like I've already made judgments about you."_

"_Right. I'm the rich man's Lindsay Lohan." Her smile now looked apologetic._

"_Sorry." She apologized._

"_That's okay." He assured her._

"_Hey, can I ask you something?" she asked suddenly._

"_Yeah."_

"_I know it must have been hell for you, alone on that island for 5 years, but I'm…"_

_Oliver looked at her curiously. "But what?" he prodded._

_She looked at him, a serious look in her eyes. "But was there ever a day when you were just… happy to be away from everything? No pressure from your family, no need to be the person everyone else expects you to be. Was there ever a day when—"_

"_When I didn't feel lost and I felt free?" he finished. She nodded slightly. "More than one." He admitted. "And, uh those are the days that I miss." Helena smiled and took a sip of her water._

_The scene changed to an Indian restaurant where Tommy had taken Laurel on their date. Laurel was smirking at Tommy, who was suffering through very spicy curry._

"Pansy." Laurel teased.

"_What, is it too spicy for you, Merlyn?" Laurel joked, casually sipping her water._

"_No! No, not really" He denied, wiping his face with his napkin. "I'm just, um, I'm just crying because I was thinking of a Hallmark commercial I saw earlier today, featuring a sick kitty. It was very emotional." The two laughed._

_Their waiter came up to their table. "Will there be anything else?"_

"_No." Tommy said, handing him his credit card. "Thank you." He smiled at Laurel. "Thanks for letting me take you to dinner."_

"_Well, thank you for letting me choose Indian." Laurel replied._

"I knew it. You wanted to see me suffer." Tommy said lightly. The two shared a smile.

"_You know, I read this article by a film critic once, who said if he could have one wish, it would be to watch his favorite movie again for the first time." Tommy said suddenly. "I kind of wish that was us."_

"_So you want dinner and a movie." Laurel joked._

"_No. I wish we had just met and that all this was just beginning and there wasn't so much of me I wish you'd forget." He admitted._

"_Well, keep saying nice things like that and maybe next time I'll let you choose the restaurant." She said with a smile._

"_Mr. Merlyn?" Tommy looked up at the waiter who had suddenly appeared._

"_Yeah?" he asked._

"_I'm sorry, I'm afraid you credit card has been declined."_

Tommy watched in surprise. His cards didn't have limits; so why would it have been declined.

Malcolm smirked slightly, but sat back and schooled his features. This was something he had been thinking about more and more, and apparently he had finally had enough.

_Tommy looked up in confusion. "Did you swipe it a few times? You know, sometimes those things can be a little glitchy."_

"_I did, and, um, I'm afraid the credit card company wants me to confiscate it." The waiter replied. "Sorry." _

_The scene changed back to Russos. The restaurant was empty, all other tables cleared. But Oliver and Helena were still sitting, chatting amicably._

"_People are always asking me, what did I miss the most?" he was saying. "Air conditioning. Satellite radio. Tagliet-uh-ta—"_

"_Tagliatelle?" she supplied._

"_Mm. Right." He agreed. "But those are the answers that I give people because those are the answers they're expecting."_

"_Why can't you just be truthful?" she asked._

"_I don't know how truthful I can be." He admitted._

_Helena considered the man. "You've been through a crucible, and it changed you." She announced. "How can it not?"_

_Not knowing how to respond, Oliver just looked at the beautiful woman across from him. A glint of silver caught his eye. "That's beautiful." He said. "Your cross."_

_Here smile was almost a grimace. "It's a gift. From my fiancé."_

_Oliver smiled awkwardly. "Fiancé."_

"_Mm."_

"_I didn't know you were engaged." He began, but she cut him off._

"_I'm not, anymore. He died." She explained sadly._

"_I'm sorry."_

"_Me, too." She sat back, fingering her cross. "That was my crucible."_

It suddenly clicked with Quentin. "Her fiancé was gunned down." He said suddenly. "How much you want to bet that dear old dad had the fiancé murdered, and she found out?"

"It makes sense." Slade said. "You always want someone to suffer the most when they take someone you love away from you."

_Oliver took a sip of water. "You know, it's nice to It's really nice to be with someone that I can be myself with." He said sincerely._

"_It's nice to be with someone who knows how hard it can be." She responded, equally sincere._

"_I'm really sorry." He said again._

"_It's okay." She assured it. _

_Suddenly his phone rang. He looked at her apologetically as he pulled out his phone and answered. "Yeah."_

"_It's Diggle. Something came up. You gotta get out of there and call me back." Oliver sighed as he hung up. He looked sadly at Helena, sorry that the night was over._

"_Helena, I have to go." He said. "There's something that I have to do. It's about my mother, otherwise I would, uh, I would stay."_

"_And I would like that." She admitted. Oliver smiled at her and pulled out a wad of cash. He set it down on the table, but suddenly his hand was covered by hers._

"_My father would kill me if I let you pay." He just smiled, withdrawing his hand, but leaving the money._

"_I have a confession." Oliver said as he rose. "I didn't want to go out with you tonight."_

_Helena smiled. "That makes two of us."_

"_But I'm really glad that I did." He finished._

"_That makes two of us." She replied quietly. He gave her one last look, then turned to leave. "Oliver." She said suddenly, and he turned around. "Be careful with my father." She advised him. He nodded, then left._

_The scene changed back to Queen Manor. Moira was in bed flipping through a magazine when there was a knock on the door. _

"_Thea, you don't need to knock, sweetheart." She said absently._

"_What about me?" Moira looked up in alarm to see Malcolm Merlyn standing in her bedroom. "I hope you don't mind; Thea let me in."_

"_What are you doing here?" she asked with a tremor in her voice. _

"Good question." Thea said darkly.

"_I wanted to see how your recovery was going."_

"_Well, surely someone of your means has a telephone." She argued._

"_I like to see someone when I have something important to talk about." Malcolm said, sitting on the edge of the bed. "We used to be friends, Moira. I still remember that time. You, me, and Robert." He said, almost wistfully. "Which is why I came by. You are a vital part of Starling City's future. Robert feared that future. He lost his conviction." His voice sharpened, tinged with threat. "It's been my experience that when someone has a brush with death like you experienced today, even their deepest held convictions can change. Have they?"_

_Moira looked him in the eyes. "No." she assured him._

_Malcolm smiled. "You didn't have to say it." he said, suddenly her eyes couldn't meet his anymore. "I can see that they haven't." The implied threat clear, Malcolm rose and left a trembling Moira alone in her room._

Thea glared at the man. "You son of a bitch." She growled. "You leave her the hell alone! Or so help me god, I'll beat the shit out of you myself!"

"Thea," Moira warned, putting a hand on her arm. Malcolm stared at the girl, smiled slightly, then looked back to the screen.

_The scene changed to the Alley next to Russo's. Oliver quickly called Diggle back. "What happened?" he asked._

"_Yeah, it's what's about to happen." Dig began. "Bertinelli's enforcer Nick Salvati?"_

"_Yeah. We drank a scotch together. He seems like a real stand-up mobster." Oliver said dryly._

"_Yeah, well, he's been paying visits to everyone who owes the mob protection money."_

"_Diggle, I'm trying to figure out who took a shot at my mother, not take on all of organized crime." Oliver argued._

"_Well, listen, Oliver, Salvati and his goons have already put 4 people in the hospital tonight," Dig shot back, "and if somebody doesn't stop them, the poor bastard who owns Russo's is gonna be next."_

"_Wait, wait." Oliver said, halting Diggle's rant. "Russo's?" he asked to clarify._

"_It's at the corner of Adams and—"_

"_I know where it is, Diggle. I'm here right now."_

_That brought Dig up short. "What?"_

_Oliver grimaced. "I was having dinner with Bertinelli's daughter."_

"_Oliver, you're supposed to be going undercover, not speed dating." Dig scolded._

"_I didn't have a choice."_

"_Yeah, well, uh, I've seen her on the web. You made quite the sacrifice." Dig quipped._

"Hang a big roger on that." Dig muttered to his on screen self.

_Oliver looked down the alley and saw a town car park across the street. He cursed. "Salvati's here."_

_Inside the restaurant, Mr. Russo was counting the night's receipts as his daughter finished cleaning up. She was about to lock the doors when Nick Salvati and to other enforcers walked in._

"_I'm sorry, we're closed." The girl said timidly. Salvati just gave her a look, and then walked over to Russo._

"_Oh, Mr. Salvati. Buona sera." He said nervously to the gangster. "I have some fresh-made lasagna—" he tried, but Nick cut him off._

"_We're not here for food, Mr. Russo." He said. "Your payment's due."_

"_I already made my payment this month." Russo argued._

"_You need to pay again." Nick said coldly._

"_Please. I can't afford to make another payment if I'm going to—"_

"_Going to what?" he asked. He saw several bottle so wine sitting on the bar. "Restock your bar?" he swept the bottles off the bar, and they crashed to the ground sending wine and broken glass everywhere. "Break his fingers." He nodded to one of the men._

"_Leave him alone!" his daughter yelled, pulling at the goon._

"_Break hers, too." Nick decided. The other good grabbed the girl._

"_No! Don't touch her!" Russo yelled. Suddenly an arrow struck the fuse box, sending the restaurant into darkness. And then the Hood was among them, taking out the two goons and yelling for the Russo's to get out. He turned his attention to Nick, who was trying to shoot him, and didn't see the second gangster start to get back to his feet._

_Suddenly the biker was there, opening fire and taking out the two goons. The Hood threw a flechette, disarming her, and moved in to attack, and Nick took the opportunity to escape. The two masked vigilantes traded blows furiously; obviously the girl was better trained hand to hand than she was in firearms. But The Hood was better, and he landed a blow on her helmet's visor, shattering it. He then took the opportunity to yank off the helmet- revealing Helena underneath. The Hood stood, shocked, and Helena took the opportunity to escape, leaving the stunned Oliver behind._

"Careless." Slade noted. "He does have a habit of being distracted by pretty girls."

_The scene changed back to the Foundry, where a frustrated Oliver was pacing as Diggle sat at the computer._

"_I don't understand. Why is she targeting her family?" he wondered aloud._

"_I don't know. And here I thought you had parental issues." Dig joked._

"_It's not a joke, Diggle." Oliver ground out, his frustration building. Diggle gave him a look._

"_Oliver, you're not falling for this girl, are you?" he asked. "Because I know you can't be that crazy." _

"I'd like to argue that…" Tommy said wryly, earning an elbow from Thea.

_At Oliver's silence, Dig pressed on. "Helena Bertinelli shot at your mother. She also murdered four men in cold blood."_

"_She has to have reasons for what she's doing." He defended. Dig scoffed._

"_Reasons? Since when do you care about the bad guys' reasons? Oh, she is the bad guy, Oliver. She's the killer. And whatever's going on in your head, you better get it straight, man." He stood to stand in front of Oliver. "Any attempt on his right hand is gonna send your new friend's father on the warpath."_

_Oliver looked him in the eyes. "I know what I'm doing."_

_Dig scoffed again. "Now I know how your family feels when you lie to them."_

_The scene changed to the SCPD. Lance was with Kelton, watching video surveillance of the fight at Russo's._

"_Is this the only angle you got?" Lance asked, frustrated. Kelton shrugged._

"_The Russos chintzed out a bit on their security package." He explained._

"_Somebody is in the wings with a gun shooting at these guys." Lance sighed. "What do you got from earlier?" he asked._

"_You mean before the shooting?" Lance nodded yes. "A business dinner, a birthday dinner, a couple of blind dates…"_

"_Any guests of the Chinese persuasion?" at his confused look, Quentin said "Humor me."_

_Kelton rewound the video file to earlier during dinner. He started looking at one of the closer tables when Lance spotted something. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, wait a second. What was that?" He exclaimed, taking over the keyboard. _

"_Help yourself." Kelton muttered as Lance zoomed in on a far table. He spotted Helena Bertinelli, then panned over to see her date._

"_Son of a bitch."_

_The scene changed to later at Queen Manor. Oliver answered a knock on the front door, and found Detective Lance standing there._

"_Detective." He said pleasantly. "Is everything okay?"_

_Lance looked uncomfortable, but spoke. "Your, um, your buddy with the arrows was at Russo's last night."_

_Oliver smiled grimly. "And I was there earlier with a date. So what? You think I'm the hood guy again?" he asked._

"_No." Lance denied. "Your date. Helena Bertinelli. If I were you, I'd stay away from her. Her family's bad news on a good day." He warned the younger man._

Laurel looked over at her bather in amazement as the Detective shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Huh. I figured you'd be happy that he was making a move on someone other than me."

"_Why the sudden concern for my well-being?" Oliver asked, curious despite himself._

_Lance sighed. "A few weeks ago I made a mistake. I almost got you killed."_

"_And you felt like you owed me one?" Oliver realized. _

"_If I did, as far as I'm concerned, this clears the books." Quentin spat, then turned and left._

"You felt like you owed Oliver a life debt." Felicity realized. "It's like Harry Potter, only with bows and arrows instead of wands." Thea cackled at that, and even Lance smiled. Tommy chuckled, but the smile died when he recognized his home in the next scene.

_The scene changed to Merlyn Manor. Out on the Patio, Malcolm was in the middle of a furious session of fencing when Tommy stalked up to him._

"_Can I talk to you?" he asked his father. Upon getting no response, he yelled "Dad!"_

"_In case you haven't noticed, I'm a little occupied at the moment." Malcolm said, not breaking his attack._

"_I just talked to the accountant." Tommy pressed on. "He said my accounts were frozen. He said my credit cards were all canceled!"_

"_I pay Sandy a king's ransom each year in fees, Tommy. When it comes to money, if he says it's so, it's so."_

"_Do you think this is a joke?" Tommy demanded. Malcolm finally signaled to his opponent for a break, then turned to his son and whipped off his helmet. "No." he answered. "You are. Although I must say, your chronic irresponsibility and terminal laziness has lost its humor." Tommy stared at his father, stunned and seething, "Hmm. You're wondering why now." Malcolm continued. "The better question is, why not sooner?"_

"_It's my trust fund." Tommy argued._

"_Which is comprised of my money." Malcolm rejoined. "Oh, excuse me. Was comprised." He mockingly patted his son on the cheek, then put his helmet back on and turned to his opponent. Without another word, the two began dueling, while Tommy stalked off, dejected._

Tommy glared at his father. "Don't hold back, DAD." He spat. "Why not tell me how you really feel?"

Malcolm gestured at the screen. "I just did. Though I must say I held out far longer than I was planning to."

"Yeah?" Tommy said. "Well, while we're talking about our feelings, here's mine- I'd rather be irresponsible and lazy than a psychotic son of a bitch like you!"

Malcolm sneered at his son. "I would feel proud that you are finally showing some backbone, if I didn't know you'll just cave in and slink away like you always do." He laughed humorlessly. "Thea's shown more guts and determination to me in two days than you have in 28 years!"

"Malcolm!" Moira exclaimed.

Tommy made to get up, but Thea put a hand on his shoulder. "Don't." she pleaded. "You're better than him. Don't stoop to his level."

**Do I need to come in there? **Mia's voice sounded over the intercom.** Dad, do everyone a favor and shut the fuck up.**

Malcolm shrugged and sat back in his chair. He had said what he needed to say. Only time would tell if it forced Tommy to finally grow up.

Tommy sat back in his chair, steadfastly refusing to look in his father's general direction. Moira Looked to Laurel and indicated again switching seats, which they did. Moira sat down next to Malcolm and gave him a hard look.

"You didn't need to be so hard on your son." She cautioned.

"Yes, I did." Malcolm said resolutely. "My son can be a great man, if he'd only grow up. So lay out all of his faults and say that he'll never amount to anything. I make him hate me, so he'll be absolutely motivated to prove me wrong."

"But at the cost of your son's love!" she exclaimed quietly.

"As long as I can be sure he will survive- and thrive- in the future; as long as I know he can be happy in life while standing on his own two feet, and not my shoulders- it's a sacrifice I'm willing to make."

_The scene changed to outside a church later that night. Helena sat in its small cemetery in front of a tombstone. Oliver walked up softly behind her, stopping a respectful distance before calling out._

"_Helena."_

_She didn't even turn around. "How did you find me here?" she asked._

"_I followed you from your house." Oliver said. He looked at the headstone that read 'Michael Staton'. "Your fiancé?"_

"_Yeah." She replied, laying a single rose at the foot of the gravestone before rising to meet his gaze head on._

"_You said that losing him was your own crucible." He started. "That it changed you. You didn't say how."_

"_When you love someone as much as I loved him, with all of your heart- you can't just turn that emotion off when they're taken from you. You still feel things as deeply. And if it can't be love that you feel, then," she took a calming breath, "Then it becomes hate."_

"_Hate for who?" he asked. Helena just shook her head._

"_Oliver you should stay away from me." She said sadly, walking away._

"_Helena?" Oliver called, moving after her. They both stopped suddenly when a van pulled up next to the church. Nick Salvati got out, his gun aimed at Helena's head. "Get in." he demanded, and both Helena and Oliver were ushered into the van by two other gangsters._

"So, how many times can the guy get kidnapped?" Tommy asked, trying to lighten the mood.

"It's hardly something to joke about, Tommy." Moira said thinly.

"Why not? I'd be more worried **for** the mobsters at this point." He reasoned. Moira silently concurred.

_The scene changed to an old warehouse down by the docks. Helena and Oliver were seated on chairs, their hands zip-cuffed behind them._

_Helena looked up at Nick with disgust. "My father is going to kill you for this." She said boldly. Nick smiled, then back-handed her, knocking her and her chair over. Helena hit the ground with a grunt._

"_I've been wanting to do that for years." Nick snarled, and then indicated to his men to pick her back up. "Spoiled bitch. I knew it was someone from the inside waging war against your father and me. I just never thought it'd be this inside." He held out his hand, and Helena's silver cross necklace dangled from his fingers. "You dropped this at Russo's."_

_Helena smirked up at the mobster. "You're smarter than I gave you credit for, Nicky." She admitted._

"_You're not." He raised his hand to hit her again._

"_Hey!" Oliver yelled, getting his attention even as he worked to free himself from the cuffs. "You're a businessman, right? So let's talk business." He began. "I can offer you a lot of money if you let us go."_

_Nick looked at him with disgust. "This isn't about money, Richie Rich. This is about loyalty."_

"_He's got nothing to do with any of this." Helena argued. Nick whirled to face her._

"_Then what the hell is it about?" he demanded._

"_My father had Michael murdered." Helena snarled. Nick scoffed._

"_Of course he did. He didn't want you to know the truth." He leaned over her and yanked back her hair. "Your rat of a fiancé was gathering evidence. He was talking to the fucking FBI!" He let her hair go and stood. "The love of your life was going to destroy your father."_

"_You're wrong." Helena said._

"_I found a laptop in Michael's bag, Helena." Nick stated. "Everything that could send your father and me to prison for the rest of our lives was on it. That computer—"_

"_Was mine." She declared, shutting Nick up in surprise. "Michael wasn't the one talking to the FBI, I was." She admitted boldly._

"Well…" Laurel started. "Didn't see that coming."

"_You?"_

"_My father is a monster." She spat. "He doesn't care who he hurts to keep his money and power, and I wanted it to stop."_

_Nick shrugged. "Well, then it's your fault Michael's dead. Not your father for ordering the hit or me for carrying it out." He pointed at her. "Yours."_

"That was a mistake." Slade noted.

"_You shot Michael." She said in dawning realization._

"_In the chest, so he knew it was me." He bragged, placing the cross back around her neck. He stood and moved back slightly, pulling his gun. "Just like this"_

_Oliver burst free at that moment, tackling Nick to the ground. His gun skidded away from him. The two goons moved in to attack, but Oliver caught them, taking them down while Helena also broke free and handled Nick. The two traded blows before Helena forced Nick back up against a forklift, her hand squeezing his throat. Oliver killed the last remaining goon and looked over at the woman._

"_You're gonna burn in hell for what you've done!" Nick choked out._

"_It'll be worth it." She replied, and then broke his neck._

"_Helena!" Oliver exclaimed in shock and surprise._

"_I didn't have a choice, Oliver." She said, breathing heavily from the fight. "No one can know my secret."_

"Wow, Ollie sure knows how to pick 'em, doesn't he?" Thea asked rhetorically.

_The scene changed to SCPD, where Hilton was briefing Lance on the latest Bertinelli family murders._

"_CSU didn't find any usable prints except for the 3 victims." He said, handing the file to Lance. "One of them had a GSW to the chest."_

"_So who broke the necks of Salvati and his buddy?" Lance asked rhetorically. _

_Hilton sighed. "Look, it's been a while since The Hood broke anyone's neck. And I didn't see any arrows lying around."_

"_We better pray that Frank Bertinelli blames The Hood for this." Lance said darkly. "'Cause if he thinks it's the Triad, Starling City is ground zero to World War III."_

_The scene changed to Laurel's apartment. There was a knock on the door, and she opened it to find a dejected Tommy Merlyn standing in the hallway._

"_You okay?" she asked._

_Tommy sighed. "I spoke to my dad today."_

"_I bet that was fun." She quipped as Tommy came in._

"Oh, you betcha." Tommy muttered darkly.

"_He explained to me what happened with my credit card yesterday." He began. "And my checking account, my savings account, my brokerage account, my stock portfolio." He sighed, dropping down onto her sofa. "He cut me off completely."_

"_What?" she exclaimed softly, sitting next to him._

"_My car got repossessed." He continued. "That was fun. Oh, and I have to move out of my apartment by the end of the month."_

_Laurel took a hold of his hand. "You are gonna be fine, Tommy." She promised him. "In fact, you are gonna be great. Merlyn money or not." She smiled. "And you know, I have a mushroom and olive Mario pizza in my refrigerator waiting to be eaten."_

_Tommy smiled back. "I suppose it's already paid for, right?"_

"_Exactly." She agreed._

Laurel reached over and took Tommy's hand, squeezing it in silent support.

_The scene changed to Queen Manor. Walter walked into the bedroom silently, going over to the bed and sitting down on the edge, stroking his sleeping wife's hair. Moira awoke and looked up in surprise._

"_When did you get back?" she asked._

"_Just now."_

_Moira sat up in bed. "I'm so happy to see you." She said softly. "But did you come home only because you heard I was hurt?"_

"_No. I was already on my way when Thea called. I actually came home because I miss my wife."_

"_Ohh." Moira kissed him, and he held her tight._

"_It's okay." He assured her. Outside the door, Oliver looked in, satisfied that his mother was alright. He moved away from the door to give them privacy, and spotted Thea walking towards him._

"_Is she all right?" she asked._

"_Walter's home." He whispered, smiling. "She's gonna be fine."_

_Thea smiled awkwardly. "Look, I'm sorry if I was a bitch with you earlier."_

"_There were a few times. Could you be more specific?" he joked._

"Ain't that the truth." Tommy teased, his mood lightening.

"Shut it." Thea said warningly.

_Thea laughed lightly. "Don't push it."_

"_Don't worry. You weren't a bitch." He paused. "At the hospital you were a little." he held up his fingers a small distance apart. "A little bit."_

"_Look, I'm just worried about you." She said. "You seem really lonely. And we all have our secrets, Ollie. Clearly you have yours. And it's fine if you don't want to share them with us, but I just really think you should share them with someone." She kissed him on the cheek and moved on, leaving Oliver with his thoughts._

_The scene changed to the Bertinelli House. Helena was just coming out of the bathroom in a robe, her hair wet from a shower, when she paused. "I'd ask how you got in here," she said, "but the Starling City vigilante comes and goes as he pleases, doesn't he?"_

_Across the room Oliver stood, looking out a window. "How'd you know?"_

_Helena crossed her arms. "I saw you fight. And I saw your eyes. That island changed you in ways that only someone like me could understand."_

"_No." he denied. "What you're doing right now, I know that if feels like justice, but it's not. It's revenge."_

"_Sometimes revenge is justice." Helena stated._

"_Your father killed your fiancé."_

"_And what did your father do to you?" she demanded. "Isn't the man in the hood fighting to set things right? Why is your vendetta more valid than mine? We're the same, you and I."_

"_No, we're not."_

_Helena scoffed. "Hiding in plain sight. Concealing our anger with smiles and lies." Tears pooled in her eyes. "Don't lie to me, Oliver. You feel the same as I do, I know it."_

"_Why are you crying?"_

"_I don't know. Maybe it's because I have been alone in my hate for so long, it feels—"_

"_It feels so good to tell the truth." Oliver finished for her. Almost in desperation he reached for her, pulling her in close and kissing her. After a moment, she responded, clutching him to her tightly, afraid to let go._

As the screen faded to black, Thea sighed in relief. Tommy looked over at her. "Happy he opened up to someone?" he asked with a smirk.

"Could have chosen better." Thea said. "But no. I'm glad I don't have to watch my brother have sex."

"Could be worse. We could have been watching you have sex." Tommy said, shuddering.

Thea chuckled.

**Wait for it.**

Thea looked up at the ceiling in outraged annoyance. "Oh, come on!" she complained, ignoring the evil eyes her mother and Malcolm were giving her.

**TBC**

* * *

><p><strong>AN: THIS CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR 'THE CLIMB'. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.**

So, how about that mid-season finale? I guess they'll be changing the name of the show to Black Canary now.

Ah, who am I kidding? Someone will throw Ollie into a Lazarus pit around the fourth episode back (as the first three are forming a Canary trilogy according to the producers).

So now we know that Thea killed Sara under the influence of mind control drugs from Malcolm. And that Malcolm set this up to either A) have Oliver kill Ra's, thereby erasing his blood debt or B) have Ra's kill Oliver, thereby getting revenge against him. Either way it appears that Malcolm is ultimately using Thea as a disposable weapon and cares more about his plans than her.

This kind of screws with my story.

I've said I will be cherry picking things from Season 3 to put into my story. The whole drugging aspect may or may not be a part of that. I don't want to give anything away, but I will say that my Malcolm will differ greatly from the Malcolm on the show. I'll say no more until we get to the chapters that deal with this explicitly.

**-Naitch03**

**A/N2:** Okay, I have a confession to make. I got ZERO writing done last week. That is because I found an awesome new tory to read. And I highly recommend you all check it out. The story is: **Still Waters and Quiet Men; A Starling Mystery** by **Lademonessa**. It is an epic, highly detailed and highly enthralling story that focuses on Felicity and her ties to two vigilante groups- Team Arrow, and the Bat Family. It was so engrossing I couldn't stop reading it, and I highly recommend you check it out. You can find the story both on FanFic and AO3, though the story is illustrated on AO3 and includes hyperlinks to her research. Be warned, though- it's 57 chapters in, and the chapters are LONG. I love that kind of story, but some of you may not. I recommend you give it a try, though. Also check out her story '**Sunshine Suits Her'**, which is just as good.


	10. Chapter 9: Vendetta

**Disclaimer:** Arrow is owned by The CW, Berlanti Productions, and Warner Bros. Television. The character of the Green Arrow and the Justice League is owned by DC Comics. I own nothing; I'm just playing in their universe.

**Chapter 9: Vendetta**

* * *

><p>Moira took the remote, staring at her daughter as the next memory set uploaded.<p>

"What?" Thea asked. "It's not as if I've had a lot of sex…"

**A-hem.**

Thea glared up at the ceiling. "I hate you so much right now."

**Guess that makes you a masochist. **Mia replied. **Ready when you are, Mom.**

"Thank you, dear." She replied. "We'll talk later." She promised Thea, and then pressed play.

_The scene opened with Helena and Oliver, naked and in bed, seeming asleep. _

"And we start with just what I want to see…" Thea muttered.

"I'm not minding." Felicity replied, and then blinked. "I said that out loud, didn't I?" she asked Dig, who nodded with a grin.

_Slowly, Helena opens her eyes. She sits up slowly, seemingly coming to a decision. As she gets out of the bed and moves to get dressed, Oliver rolls over, subtly watching her._

_The scene shifts then to an alley in China town. Helena (sans helmet) rides her bike down an alley, stopping several yards away from a parked Mercedes. She gets off the bike and watches the car, seeing a driver and two men outside acting as sentries._

"Ah, crap." Quentin said. "Triad. That crazy woman's going to start a gang war."

"_Quán qīng." One said into a radio. A moment later, China White appeared. Helena pulled out her gun and took aim. A moment later, the man she truly wanted appeared- Zhishan, the leader of the Chinese Triad in Starling City. Just as she pulled the trigger, The Hood dropped down, forcing her gun away from the Asian and causing the shot to go wide. _

"_Shàng chē!" China White said, pushing her boss into the car._

"_Shāle tā!" he ordered, and the Triad members opened fire. The Hood shot an arrow to give them cover, then forced Helena down an alley. They took cover in a doorframe as the Mercedes sped past, gangsters still shooting. After they had passed, Helena pushed The Hood away._

"_Take your hands off me!" she snarled._

_Oliver dropped his hood. "What the hell did you think you were doing?" he demanded._

"_That man was the leader of the Triad." She explained. "My father blames them for the recent hits against his men!"_

"_These are men you killed."_

"_That's right." She boasted. "I take out Zhishan and the Triad retaliates. I have weakened my father's organization to the point where there is no way that he can survive their onslaught!"_

"Yeah, him and half of Starling you crazy broad!" Quentin snarled.

Laurel looked at her father in surprise. "Jeez, Dad. Take it down a notch."

Quentin shook his head. "You're too young to remember the last gang war, when Bertinelli forced the Falcone and Maroni families out of Starling and back to Gotham City."

"I remember those days." Malcolm said. "I had to beg Rebecca to stay home some days; the fighting in the streets resembled a war zone." He looked over at Tommy. "You probably heard some of those arguments."

"The simple fact is if this woman triggers a gang war, too many innocent people are going to die." Quentin sighed. "I hope Oliver can shut her down."

"_What, and then you'll have your revenge?" _

"_Then I have justice, for what he did to Michael and me." She said passionately. _

"_It's not justice." Oliver argued._

"_And what you do is?"_

"_Would you let me show you?" he pleaded. She stared at him for a moment, and then sighed._

_The scene changed to Big Belly Burger. Oliver and Helena, in civilian clothes, were being handed their order by Carly._

"_Get you anything else?" she asked._

_Oliver smiled at her. "No, thank you, Carly."_

_Carly looked at him suspiciously. "Where's my brother-in-law? It's late and this is the Glades. Shouldn't he be keeping you safe?"_

_Oliver nodded towards Helena. "She is tougher than she looks." He quipped. Carly's gaze narrowed, but she moved off. "I haven't been on a second date in a while. It feels good so far." He remarked, earning a smile from her._

"_Look, um," she started awkwardly, "We slept together, and it was really nice. And I needed it. But I'm not looking for anything."_

"_Right. Because you have everything figured out." Oliver replied dryly._

"_I don't think you're one to judge." She leaned forward. "I saw you kill people, remember?"_

"_I only kill people when it is absolutely necessary. It's not my opening move." He argued. _

"Can't argue with that." Quentin said, somewhat reluctantly.

"_And the way that you're going, you're gonna get somebody hurt, like my mother or yourself."_

"_I'm sorry about your mother." She said sincerely. "That was an accident."_

"Well, that makes it all better." Moira said dryly.

"_How many more accidents have to happen before you're done getting back at your father?" he asked._

"_Hopefully none." She glared at him. "I am not getting back at him. I-I am stripping away everything that has meaning to him, just like he did to me when he had Michael killed."_

"_What if I could show you another way, a way you could take down your father's organization without putting innocent people at risk?" Oliver asked._

_Helena sighed, and then smiled. "Thank you for the coffee and the sex. But I'm not interested." She gathered her purse and left, leaving a frustrated Oliver behind._

_The scene shifted to the next day at the lair. Oliver was doing vertical pushups against the wall when Diggle walked in._

"Okay, now he's just showing off." Tommy remarked.

"_I don't know where the next Olympics are at, but you might want to think about signing yourself up." He threw his jacket onto a nearby table and looked at the man. "So, you want to talk about last night?" he asked. Not waiting for a reply, he plowed on. "Okay. Last time you and I spoke, you were on your way to stop Helena Bertinelli from her one-woman war against the Mafia. How'd that work out for you? Nick Salvati, Frank Bertinelli's right hand, was found with his neck snapped along with a few of his thugs. Was that her or you?"_

_Oliver got up and moved to the salmon ladder. "I was with Helena when somebody jumped us. We didn't have a choice." He responded._

"_We?" Dig asked, a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach._

"_She knows, Diggle, about me." He said. "It was my secret or her life." He tried to justify._

"_It's not just your secret anymore, Oliver." He pointed out. "This woman is a killer. She's been dropping bodies all over the city."_

_He turned away from the salmon ladder to face his friend. "Diggle, she's not what you think she is. 3 years ago she was going to turn her father in to the FBI. She put everything she had on him on a laptop. Her father found it, thought it belonged to her fiancé, and had him murdered." He turned back to the ladder and began working out._

_Diggle let out a heavy breath. "All right, listen, that's a heavy thing, man. But it doesn't change the fact that she is dangerous." He argued again. "And if Bertinelli retaliates against the Triad or is perceived to, the Triad is gonna rain down hell and innocent people are gonna be killed."_

_Oliver grunted as he worked his way up the ladder. "She's lost, Diggle, and whether she knows it or not, I can save her, stop her from doing anything reckless."_

"_That's just it. You can't save her, okay? Some people don't change."_

"_I can. I can help her." He insisted._

"_All right." Dig said finally. "Maybe you think you're more persuasive than you are, or maybe she thinks she's fine the way she is on her mission of righteous fury. Whatever it is, either way, all of this, it ends badly."_

"_Either way I got to try." Oliver stated, giving up on the ladder and walking away._

"Man, I got a bad feeling about this." Diggle said.

_The scene changed to Queen Manor. Moira and Walter were walking down the stairs, with Walter flipping through paperwork._

"_Where are you off to so early? You just got home." Moira asked._

"_The trouble with traveling overseas for a few weeks is that a few weeks' worth of work is piling up on my desk." He replied civilly. He slipped the papers into his briefcase. "I just want to start digging my way out from underneath it."_

"_Of course." Moira stared sadly at his back for a few moments._

"_What is it?" he asked, sensing her stare._

"_We haven't spoken since you left. Really spoken."_

"_I know."_

"_Well, I can imagine finding out that I had Robert's yacht salvaged and that he was murdered, it was a lot for you to take in."_

"You think?" Thea said sarcastically.

_Walter sighed and finally turned to face his wife. "Yes, it was."_

"_I just don't want you to feel that you can't trust me anymore. I wasn't lying to- to hurt you, but to keep you safe." She tried to explain. "I haven't changed, Walter. I'm still the woman you fell in love with and married." She said sincerely, gazing into his eyes. "Do you see that?" she asked, pleading._

"_Yeah. Of course I do." Walter replied. He kissed her lightly on the lips. "I just want us to agree to be honest with one another, moving forward."_

"_Okay." She agreed at once. "Yes, of course." They started to kiss once more, but were interrupted._

"_Walter." The man in question looked back and up on the balcony, where Thea stood with a smile on her face. "Will you give me a lift to school?" she asked, moving down the stairs. "I like to mix it up sometimes and actually be on time."_

"Or actually show up." Moira noted archly. Thea grimaced.

"_That would be my parental privilege." He said happily, closing his briefcase and moving with her towards the door._

"_Or, you know, you could just buy me a convertible and then we could avoid this." She hinted none too subtly._

"Yeah, because nothing bad could happen with you behind the wheel of a car." Tommy teased.

"She'll have to be better than Sara was." Laurel put in. "She once bought a car and wrecked it on the way to getting it inspected for the plates."

"Thank you for your vote of confidence." Thea said dryly.

"_What, and miss out on all those wonderful conversations we have in the car? I don't think so." He started as they walked out. Moira watched, her smile turning to a look of concern as the door closed._

_The scene changed to the Bertinelli residence. Frank Bertinelli was consoling Dina Salvati, Nick Salvati's widow As Helena walked down the stairs._

"_I'm so sorry, Frank." Dina was saying. "The last thing you need is me crying on your shoulder all night. I just can't believe that Nick is gone."_

"_Dina, look, you and Nicky, you're like family to me, okay?" Frank stated. "And in my family, we take care of our own. Okay?"_

"_Okay." She said._

"_I'm sorry for your loss." Helena said, stopping at the base of the stairs. "Nick was like a brother to me."_

"We have a very different definition of brother." Thea noted. "I used to threaten to kill mine; I was never actually going to do it."

In the control room, Mia flinched hard and Sara and Stephanie both sent her looks of comfort.

_Dina gave her a watery smile. Frank kissed her on the cheek and led her to the door. "Hey now, come on." He said, hugging her once more. "We'll talk to you soon." He assured her._

"_Okay." She said, walking out of the house. Frank closed the door, and then laid his forehead against the cool wood. "I'm gonna find the son of a bitch who did this." He vowed "And on my life, I'm gonna make him pay." Helena smiled at him in faked encouragement. Before she could say anything, though, the doorbell rang. Frank sighed, turning back to the door. "You know, that girl's always forgetting something." He snarked. But when he opened the door, he was surprised._

"_Frank." Oliver Queen said, shaking his hand. "Sorry to drop by unannounced."_

"_No, no, no, come on in." Frank said. "It's all right. Come on in." Oliver walked in and shared a significant look with Helena._

"_Um Look, I know, uh, I know we've been working on that construction deal, and I'm sorry for my dropping the ball." Frank started. "But we've had a death in the family." He started to explain._

"_I'm terribly sorry to hear that." Oliver said._

"_Thank you."_

"_Actually, though, I'm not here to discuss business." He continued, looking past Frank at Helena, who stared back, a friendly smile on her face. Frank looked back and forth between the two, realization dawning._

"_Oh. Okay." He said with a smile. "Well, this is, uh this is one merger I won't stand in the way of. Excuse me, sweetie. A father knows when he's not needed." He joked, leaving the two alone in the foyer._

_Helena walked down the final stairs, stalking up to him and crossing her arms in defiance. "Was I not clear that I wasn't interested in talking?"_

"_You don't have to talk." Olive said simply, the opened the door. After a moment, Helena grabbed her jacket off the small table by the door and walked out with him._

_The scene changed to the Starling City Cemetery. Oliver led Helena to a particular grave. _

_Sara Lance_

_1987-2007_

_Loving Daughter and Sister_

"You have got to be kidding me." Quentin growled.

"And now I hate him again." Laurel added with a snarl.

"_Who was she?" Helena asked, staring at the stone. _

"_Somebody I knew a long time ago. I—" he stumbled over his words. "I was dating her sister, and it was getting serious. But back then, I did not do serious well." He paused. "But I was excellent at screwing things up. I started sleeping with Sara." His voice began to quake with suppressed emotion. "I started sleeping with my girlfriend's sister. I brought her on the yacht and she died." His voice caught, but he pushed through. "Right in front of me. And I hurt- I hurt her family… I just didn't care." Helena reached over slowly and took Oliver's hand in her own. "Before the island, I wasn't a good person." He admitted. "I was selfish and thoughtless and awful, and it affected- really affected people. People I loved." Oliver looked over at the woman. "'Cause, Helena you're on an island, too."_

Laurel's anger faded away when she finally realized that he wasn't using her sister as a way to get into Helena's pants; she was using what had happened in a bid to get Helena to allow him to help her. It also pained her, in h light of her sister's survival, to know the depth of the guilt that Oliver carried.

_Helena shook her head. "Oliver, I… I want to let you in." she said softly. "But Michael was the last man I opened up to. I can't be hurt again."_

"_I'd never hurt you." He swore. "I would never hurt you. I promise." She looked back at him, hope blooming on her eyes._

"He shouldn't have done that." Malcolm observed.

"What, try to help the woman?" Tommy asked sarcastically.

"No," Malcolm replied calmly. "Promise her something he can't absolutely guarantee."

_The scene changed to the lair. Oliver stood next to Helena, who held is bow in her hands. She nocked and arrow and pulled back sharply._

"_Uh-uh." Oliver gently chided. "Relax. Relax, relax, relax." He helped her adjust her grip. "Now, pull back gently. You need all 3 fingers to come off the bowstring at the same time." He instructed. "Relax. Breathe." Helena took careful aim at the target. "And release." Helena released the arrow, which sailed past the target, smashing into some bottles behind it._

_Helena snarled in frustration. "This is a waste of time."_

"_I'm trying to teach you something." Oliver said patiently._

"_What, the least effective way to shoot people?"_

"Took the words right out of my mouth." Tommy noted.

"You'd be surprised how effective it can be; though you shouldn't be after seeing Mr. Queen in action." Slade pointed out.

"_No, control." He took his bow back. "To use a bow and arrow requires patience and discipline." In one smooth motion, he withdrew an arrow from his quiver, nocked, aimed and fired, hitting the bull's-eye dead-center. _

_Helena gave him an impressed look, and then moved over to a work table. She picked up a metal coffee cup and smirked at Oliver. Then, she tossed it up in the air- and Oliver hit it with his next shot, pinning the cup to the rafters. Amused, she next grabbed an oil can, tossed it up- and it got pinned to the wall. Next she picked up a tennis ball. She was still holding it in her hand when Oliver shot, pushing the ball out of her hand and pinning it to the wall behind her. She gaped at him, impressed despite herself._

"Damn." Tommy said, astonished.

"He's gotten better." Slade noted.

_Oliver smirked. "I can do this all day." He said, walking up to her. "It's kind of fun."_

"_I love a man with stamina." She quipped._

"_Our crusades have something in common." He said, sitting next to her. "Mine started with my father, too. He left me with a list." Oliver pulled out the notebook and showed it to her. "People who need to be reminded that Starling City isn't theirs for the taking."_

"_Anthony Venza is in here." She noted, surprised. "He works for my dad. He deals illegal prescription pills." She was looking through the list when Oliver heard the door open. He looked up and smiled._

"Well, this isn't going to go well." Diggle noted.

"_Diggle, this is Helena." He told his body man unnecessarily as Dig walked in. He didn't look amused by Helena's presence. "Diggle's my, uh… Associate." He explained._

"_Well, any associate of Oliver's is—"_

"_Absolutely nothing to you." Dig cut her off. "Ma'am." He added, a bit sarcastically._

_Helena looked at Diggle, then back at Oliver. "I'll leave you to- associate." She told Oliver, Getting up and walking off past Diggle into the Foundry._

"_She knows my name." Dig noted after she left. "That's lovely."_

"_You can trust her." Oliver assured the man._

"_Except I don't." Dig shot back. "You sleeping with this girl, Oliver?" he asked seriously._

_Oliver looked offended. "Well, I don't think that's any of your business, Diggle."_

"_It became my business when you brought me into this." Dig argued, pacing the room. "And when I signed on, I told you I was gonna keep your head straight. Well, Oliver, you're lonely. Lonelier than you want to admit. And that's why you think you can change this girl, because you need to think you can. You're like a dope fiend who thinks he can deal with his own addiction by making another addict go straight." He stopped pacing and finally turned to look at Oliver. "Oliver, what you do is dangerous. And getting confused about who's good and who's bad is a good way to get yourself dead."_

"_You done?" Oliver asked shortly._

_Diggle pursed his lips and nodded. "Yeah, I'm done. With this." He gestured around the lair. "Everything else, I don't know. I don't know, Oliver. You tell me." He asked, then turned and walked out._

In the control room, Stephanie leaned back and looked over at Mia. "I don't suppose you watched this memory before you decided to invite Malcolm and Slade up here, did you?"

Mia didn't look at her friend. "It's not the same."

"Mm-hm." Stephanie said. She didn't sound convinced.

"It's NOT." Mia insisted stubbornly.

_The scene changed to CNRI. A smiling Tommy walked in and headed right to Laurel, who was looking through files in a large cabinet. "I hope you don't have plans tomorrow night, because I just got us a rez at that new restaurant, Table Salt, opening night." He said proudly._

Laurel looked over at Tommy. "Why would you do that when you have no money?" she asked. "You should be saving your money, not-"

"Spending it on someone who definitely deserves it?" Tommy finished.

"Flattery will get you nowhere." Laurel said, though she was smiling as she said it.

_Laurel looked up from the file she was reading. "Isn't that place ridiculously expensive?" she asked, closing the drawer. _

"_Everywhere worth going is." He smirked, rubbing his finer on her forehead. "Ah, you have the cutest crinkle in your forehead when you're worried."_

"_Tommy, stop. This is serious." She argued. "I thought you were going to live more frugally."_

"_Yeah, I know. Everybody is grown up except for me." Tommy groused as they headed back to her desk. "Even Oliver has a job. He's working on that new night club." He paused as he saw Laurel's face light up. "You have thinky face. Why do you have thinky face?" _

"_Have you ever thought about asking Oliver for a job?" she asked him. _

Tommy and Thea both looked at Laurel. "Seriously?" they both said at the same time.

"That's actually a pretty good idea…" Laurel started.

"Except when I hear the words 'Ollie', 'Tommy', and 'club', I don't think work." Tommy said.

"Do you think falling-down drunk and peeing on cops?" Thea asked sweetly. "Because I know that's what I think."

Tommy shot her a sour look. "One out of two ain't bad, eh, Speedy?"

Thea's grin fell off of her face. "Touchè."

"Can we not bring up the 'peeing on a cop' incident ever again?" Quentin asked irritably.

"_Not even once." He replied immediately._

"_This isn't a quality that I love most about you, but you do know the club scene and how to have fun." Laurel pointed out, sitting on the edge of her desk._

"_You make some very valid points." Tommy conceded. "Look, I'll take care of it. I'll talk to Ollie later and we'll see what he thinks." He promised._

"_He is gonna think it is a great idea." Laurel assured him._

_The scene changed to QC. Walter was working late in his office when Felicity came in._

"_How was your trip to Australia?" she asked. "I've always wanted to go. Down under. It's just- I have this thing about kangaroos. More of a phobia. They wig me out. They look evil, and I'm sure their picture's up on like everything everywhere in that country." She rambled before Walter, thankfully, cut her off._

Slade looked at her. "You think kangaroos are evil?" he asked, amused.

Felicity nodded. "Too punchy."

"_You had something important to tell me, Ms. Smoak?"_

_Felicity forced herself to calm down. "Yes, I did. It's about Tempest." At his bored look, she pressed on. "Your wife's mysterious LLC, the one she diverted company funds to."_

_Walter gave her a tight smile. "I appreciate your diligence on this, but, uh, it was a simple misunderstanding between my wife and I. Everything's been resolved." He assured her._

"_No." she argued. "See, it hasn't. There was something about the money transfer that felt hinky to me. The money your wife withdrew from the company, I wasn't the only one who tracked it. She was being shadowed by another entity, and whoever it is, they're good." She noted. "NSA good. But, as you know, I'm good, too. So even though they left almost no trace of their presence in our system, I did manage to find one thing." She pulled out a print out and held it out to Walter. It showed the same image that was in Oliver's notebook. "Well, one image. Does that symbol mean something to you, sir?" she asked. _

"_No." he said shortly, grabbing the paper from her hand. He rose and walked around the desk so he was standing right in front of her. "What means something to me is one of my employees prying into my wife's private business without authorization. And should it happen again, I'll have you suspended." He looked at her, dead serious. "Is that clear?" he asked._

"_Crystal." She replied, timidly. Shakily she turned and walked out of his office. Walter watched her go, the picked up the paper and looked it over again. He HAD seen that picture somewhere before. But where?_

"Well, jeeze." Felicity said. "I was only doing what he told me to do, only more of it."

"Don't take it too hard, Ms. Smoak." Moira said. "I suspect he's only trying to protect you."

_The scene change back to the lair. Helena walked in and smiled at Oliver. "Where's your friend?" she asked._

"_Just the two of us tonight." He replied._

"_Oh, really? And what did you have in mind?" she asked, coming up to him._

"_An object lesson."_

_Realization dawned on her face. "We're going after Anthony Venza?" she asked._

"_Yes." Oliver confirmed. "But we're doing it on my terms." He continued. "Your father loses a piece of his organization, but no innocent people get hurt in the process." He nodded towards a large wooden box sitting on the table._

"_What is it?" she asked, walking over to the box. Oliver followed._

"_I explained to you that guns were weapons of emotion and unpredictability, but since you are far from an expert at archery, this will have to do, for now." _

_She opened the lid and inside the box, lying on a bed of purple silk, was a small automatic crossbow pistol. "I like it." She said._

"Oh, that's smart Ollie." Laurel said. "Arm the crazy lady."

"_You can't go out like that." Oliver noted. She smiled at him._

"_Why? You got a spare hood?" she joked. He led her over to his computer and pulled up a special program. She looked at the design shown on the screen in awe. "Does it come in purple?" she asked. With a few clicks of the mouse, she gasped. "I like purple." She told Oliver, smiling at him._

"Oh, don't tell me…" Quentin started, then focused on the screen to confirm his fears.

_The scene changed to a warehouse. Dozens of people were busy repackaging prescription pills to sell on the streets._

"_This isn't crack." Anthony Venza was saying to a client. "Anyone can sell crack. All you need's a street corner and a hoodie." He held up a small baggie. "This is pharmaceutical grade Oxycodone." He explained. "It's caviar. It is champagne. And you sell this with fancy houses, at parties with rich kids have got money to burn." He laughed. _

"And don't think I've forgotten about THAT, Thea." Moira stated crossly. Thea groaned.

_Then suddenly the lights went out._

_He looked over at one of his guards. "Check it out!" he ordered. The man drew his gun and cautiously made his way up a set of stairs to the second level. A moment later the sounds of punches could be heard, followed by the man's gun flying back down, landing on the floor near Venza. He picked it up, looking around. "Whoever you are, you really think you're gonna get out of here in one piece?"_

"_I was thinking the same thing."_

_Venza looked up to see The Hood standing on the upper floor. "Anthony Venza –" he started. Then Venza saw something move out of the corner of his eye and spun to see a woman, dressed in black and purple body armor, a long coat, and a mask holding a crossbow pistol._

"_You have failed this city." She finished._

"Yeah. All the good things I've been thinking about Oliver?" Quentin said, looking at Moira, "Forget it."

"Really Quentin…"

"He put a psychotic woman in a mask and gave her a weapon!" he exclaimed. "One vigilante is bad enough!"

"Yeah." Tommy agreed. "I mean, he may be crazy, but that bitch is nuts."

Laurel slapped him lightly on the arm. "Language, Tommy."

_The Hood fired an arrow at Venza's gun. On impact it exploded into a blinding flash of light. The two vigilantes jumped down and proceeded to wipe the floor with both Venza's men and his clients, who foolishly tried to fight back. Venza, for his part, decided discretion was the better part of valor and fled. He made it to the door before a bolt slammed into the handle, jamming it. He turned to see the Huntress stalking towards him, crossbow pistol pointing at his throat._

"_Please!" he pleaded. "Just don't hurt me!"_

"_Aww." Helena tilted her head, an evil smile on her lips. "How about just a little?"_

_A short time later, Oliver and Helena watched from the roof as Venza and his men were led, limping, out to waiting police cruiser. Oliver looked at Helena._

"_Millions of dollars' worth of illegal drugs confiscated, a massive blow to your father's criminal proceeds, and nobody had to die." He said. "Justice." She looked back down as Venza was put into a cruiser. "What do you think?"_

"_I think… this feels good." She said after a moment's pause. Then she smiled at him. "And not just the justice part." They both leaned in to kiss._

"You know, this could be a good thing." Malcolm said thoughtfully. At Moira's raised eyebrow, he expounded, "If he's able to bring her back from the brink, she could be a powerful ally to him. And perhaps someone else to keep him grounded." Then he shook his head. "I'm still worried about that promise, though..."

_The scene changed to the Bertinelli residence. Frank was sitting at his bar, drinking scotch as he watched the news. 'Anthony Venza was arrested last night. The police confiscated a warehouse full of illegal prescription drugs with a street value estimated in the millions. Several unconfirmed witnesses reported seeing the Starling City vigilante leaving the scene with another unknown accomplice, possibly a woman.' He finished the scotch, then threw his glass down behind the bar, shattering it. _

_Helena walked into the room and slowly came up to her father. "Bad year? The scotch, I mean." She asked._

"_Yeah." He said tiredly, taking her hand in his. "Sorry, another business setback." He leaned back and looked her over. "Wow. You look beautiful." He stated. "Oliver Queen?" at her smile, he chuckled. "Oh, it's nice to see you happy again. It's been too long." His cell phone rang. Sighing, he answered it. "Yeah?" hearing the voice on the other end, he turned away from his daughter. "Yeah. Yeah, I heard about Venza. Yeah, I know where that leaves us!" he slammed the phone down on the bar. He looked up to see Helena walking out of the room. What he didn't see was her satisfied smile._

_The scene changed to Queen Manor. Moira was busy putting the final touches on her outfit, while Walter stood in the room, reading a book._

"_I'm sorry to rush out." She was saying as she finished putting her earrings in. "I have this impromptu Board of Directors meeting with the Starling City Modern Art Museum. I don't know much about art, but I do know how to pay for it." She quipped._

_Walter kept staring down at the book. Hidden in its pages was the pint out Felicity had given him earlier that day. Seeing his wife rise, he closed the book. "No worries." He said, giving her a kiss on the cheek. "Whip them into shape."_

"_Yes, sir." She replied happily. "I'll see you when I get back." He waited a few moments after she left the room, then got to work. Swiftly but quietly, he began going around their room, looking through his wife's things. He looked through the drawers in the make-up desk, He looked through jewelry boxes, through books, even underneath statues. But nowhere did he find the symbol. He paused, picking up a picture of he and Moira in happier times. He smiled at the memory, but then something caught his eye. He looked up, over the top of the picture, to the grandfather clock that sat against the way. Through the glass of the door, he saw it- the symbol. Walter quickly put the picture down and moved to the clock, opening the door, he found a small wooden box with the symbol engraved in brass on the top. Cautiously he picked up the box, then opened it to find a small, tan book. He pulled out the book and opened it, seeing the same symbol in the inside cover. Flipping through the rest of the book, though, only showed blank pages. He stared at them, considering._

Moira sighed unhappily, worried about where this would lead. She always loved how determined Walter could be; though in this case it could cost him his life.

_The scene changed to Table Salt, where Tommy and Laurel were waiting to be seated- a new experience for the Merlyn heir._

_Tommy checked his watch. "Well, it's only been 30 minutes. That's not too bad for an opening." He said optimistically. _

"_If they don't seat us soon, I'm going to write a horrible review online." Laurel declared_

"_Let me see what I can do." He said. Tommy walked over to the hostess and gave her a winning smile. "Hey. I'm loving the Cavalli." He complimented. "Uh, look, I'm Tommy Merlyn. Is there any way that we can go to the head of the class?"_

"_Is there?" she asked in return, giving him a look. Tommy instinctively brought out his money clip- which was painfully light. He cleared his throat and returned the money to his pocket._

"_Let us know when our table's ready, okay?" he asked, dejected. He walked back over to Laurel. "Maybe you can eat some of those fancy peanuts from behind the bar." He tried as she rolled her eyes._

"You know, if you wanted to impress me, you could have cooked me dinner." Laurel said, smiling at Tommy.

Tommy smiled wistfully. "Is this your way of telling me you told me so without actually saying 'I told you so'?"

"Oh, that's coming later." She assured him. "I'm just trying to give you pointers now to use in the future."

"_Hey!"_

_Tommy and Laurel turned to see Oliver walk in with Helena. The three old friends looked at each other uncomfortably for a few moments, with Helena being thankfully oblivious._

"_Hi." Tommy said, subdued. "It's Ollie, and…someone."_

"_Tommy, Laurel, this is Helena." He introduced. _

"_Nice to meet you." She said with a smile, shaking Tommy's hand._

"_My pleasure." He replied. Helena held out her hand to Laurel, who took it after a few moments._

"_Likewise." Laurel said._

"_You look beautiful." Oliver told Laurel respectfully._

"_Thank you." She replied. They stood awkwardly for a few more moments before the hostess, thankfully, came over._

"_Mr. Queen, your table is ready." She told Oliver, who smiled in thanks._

"_When is our table gonna be ready?" Laurel asked with strained politeness._

"_When it is." The hostess replied shortly with a fake smile of her own._

"_Why don't you both join us?" Helena asked suddenly. Both Tommy and Oliver panicked at the idea._

"_No, no…" Oliver started._

"_We're just gonna have a drink and—" Tommy said at the same time._

"_We'd love to." Laurel said firmly. Tommy leaned in close to her._

"_Are you sure?" he asked._

"_I'm sure I'm hungry." She replied._

_Oliver looked between the two, then cleared his throat. He held up four fingers. "That… that'll be… it'll be great." He stuttered, handing the hostess a few more bills to get a bigger table. "That sounds great."_

"Yeah, no way this could possibly go wrong." Thea said sarcastically, looking at Laurel. "Seriously, what are you thinking?"

"Probably that I'm hungry." Laurel replied with a sigh.

_Later, the four were laughing as Tommy an Oliver told Helena stories of their childhood._

"_I had forgotten that you filled your parents' pool with beer." Oliver said, still laughing. "How many cases did that take?" _

"_Roughly a thousand or so." Tommy said with a grin._

"_You know, his father was so pissed, I thought he was actually going to drown you in it." Oliver noted to Helena._

"_Yeah, well, death by beer, there's worse ways to go. Right, Helena?" he asked the girl, taking sip of his wine._

"_Well, there are no good ways to die." She said. To recover from the awkwardness of that comment, she looked to Oliver. "So, uh, how did you and Tommy meet?"_

"_Actually, we've all known each other since—" Oliver started to explain, but was cut off by Laurel._

"_We've all known each other forever." She said simply._

"_You three have a lot of history." Helena said, finally tuning in to the undercurrent of tension between the three. _

"_Sometimes a little too much." Tommy said, taking another sip of wine._

_There was an awkward pause, then Laurel looked back to Oliver. "So, how's the night club coming along?" she asked._

"_Slower than I expected it to." Oliver replied, happy to move onto another subject. "I've, uh, I've been busy."_

"_Well, then you must be happy to have the extra help, then." She said, smiling at Tommy. Oliver looked at her, confused._

"Uh-oh." Thea said.

"_What do you mean?" he asked, puzzled._

_Tommy cleared his throat and leaned forward. "Laurel, I'm sure that Oliver doesn't want to talk about work right now." He tried._

"_You didn't ask him?" she hissed._

_Oliver looked between the two. "Ask me what?" he inquired._

"_Tommy wanted…" she looked at him, silently fuming in his seat. She cleared her throat and continued. "Tommy said that he was gonna talk to you about working for you at your night club."_

_Oliver laughed, then noticed their faces. "Really? Sorry." He looked over at Tommy. "I didn't think that you wanted any responsibility at all."_

"Ouch." Felicity said, wincing.

"_Oh, yeah, who'd believe that?" he seethed. Oliver looked taken aback._

"_You've always wanted to get into business with Tommy." Laurel pressed. I mean, don't you remember when we went to Aspen and you wanted to open a ski lodge?"_

"_The only thing that I remember from Aspen was your father being furious we shared a room with one bed." Oliver replied casually._

_The sudden weight of the drama finally pressed down on Helena, and realization sparked in her eyes. "Wait, um…" she started, looking between the two. "So you two were together…" she looked at Laurel, "and now you're dating his best friend?" she asked. _

_Tommy laughed shortly. "Yeah, we're just prime for a reality show, aren't we?" he said, finishing off his wine. Helena soon followed, downing the half glass she had left in one gulp._

Tommy sighed dejectedly.

"_Tommy, you working for me, that could be fun." Oliver said, trying to salvage something._

_Tommy threw his napkin down on the table and stood. "I don't feel so good. I'm gonna step outside." He muttered, stalking out of the restaurant._

_Laurel looked after him in concern. "I should probably go check on him." She said finally. She gave a small smile to Helena. "Helena, it was very nice to meet you." Helena returned the smile with a fake smile of her own._

_Laurel left the table and made her way after Tommy. She caught up to him as he moved through the restaurant. "Tommy, why are you so upset?" she asked._

"_Why did you have to say something to Oliver about the job?" he replied shortly._

"_You were supposed to talk to him." Laurel said._

"_Well, I hadn't."_

_Laurel winced. "Okay, I didn't realize." She apologized. "I was only trying to help."_

"_No, you were trying to get Oliver to help." He spun around and looked at her, anger and jealousy written all over his face. "It's typical Laurel, always running to her white knight." He scoffed. "It's Oliver and Laurel. It always has been." He shook his head. "That's not gonna change."_

"_Oliver and I are over." Laurel retorted. _

"_Oh, really? Because you seemed awfully bothered by his new girlfriend."_

"_What, am I supposed to like her?"_

"_I do not want to be Oliver's charity case, okay?" Tommy said finally. "To every day be reminded that I can't give you everything he could?" He sighed. "You know, losing a fortune I think is going to be easier than losing you, so why don't we just stop now." He said, leaving her stunned and upset in the restaurant._

"Wow. That was kind of harsh." Felicity stated, staring at the two would-be lovers who were looking everywhere else but at Felicity- or each other.

"Yeah, you both need to pull your heads out of your asses... oh, boy." she paused, watching the screen.

_At the side entrance, another date was falling apart. _

"Mt. Saint Helena erupting in five...four...three..." Thea said in resignation.

_"Hey. I'm sorry." Oliver said, following an equally upset Helena out to the street. "How am I supposed to know it's gonna get so weird in there?" he objected. She spun to face him. _

"_No, I'm sorry." She said. "Sorry I ever listened to you."_

"_Helena, what—"_

"_You know what I've been through!" She interrupted. "I told you I couldn't be hurt again."_

"_I'm not trying to hurt you!" Oliver denied._

"_So, making me have dinner with the love of your life is what, Oliver?" he frowned, and she pressed on. "Laurel was the girl things were getting too serious with, the girl whose sister's grave you used to manipulate me." She moved in closer. "I saw the way you looked at her. That kind of love doesn't die. You still love her."_

"_I don't." he denied._

_Helena scoffed and started walking away. Oliver reached out for her arm, but she yanked it away. "Don't touch me." She snarled. "I am done talking." She turned and walked away, leaving a hurt Oliver behind._

"Uhh... bitch, it was your idea." Thea said crossly.

"Seriously." Laurel agreed, then looked askance at Thea. "And what do you mean I need to pull my head out of my ass?" she asked indignantly.

"You're pushy. Like, a lot." Thea said slowly. You probably knew he hadn't talked to Oliver yet, so you were trying to engineer the conversation; which just ended up pissing him off. And you," she rounded on Tommy, "are too damn prideful. Instead of thinking of it as Oliver bailing you out, you should be thinking of it as the opportunity that it is."

"She does have a point, Tommy." Moira put in. "

She's right, sweetheart." Quentin added. "Don't get me wrong, I love your tenacity; but there is a time and a place for it- and that wasn't it.

_The scene changed to Laurel's apartment. She answered the door, frowning at who she saw._

"_I came to apologize." Tommy said. Laurel moved away from the door, and Tommy followed her into the apartment. "I know you were just trying to help," he began. "I guess I wasn't ready to face reality. This is just so new, you and me, and I didn't want you to see I'm scared. I'm almost 30 years old and I've never been given an ounce of responsibility in my life. You, you are driven and intelligent. You're a million times too good for me, even before I was broke." He sighed. "And now I have absolutely nothing to bring to whatever this is."_

"_I never cared about the money." Laurel replied, her frown softening. "And truth be told, billionaire was your least attractive quality. I am so sorry if I pushed you too hard on the job with Oliver." She continued. "I just-I thought you working for him was a good idea because he's your friend. And it's okay to ask a friend for help." She smiled at him. "You won't lose your street cred."_

"_I'm happy to lose my street cred." Tommy replied. "I just don't want to lose you."_

"_Well I'm not saying that it's gonna be easy But I'm here for you if you need someone to lean on." She pulled him in close. "That's what people do when they're together."_

"_Together like boyfriend-girlfriend?" Tommy said, smiling. _

"_Mm. Do not ruin this moment." Laurel giggled. "It was going so well for you." The both laughed softly, then kissed._

"Wow. It's like they heard you." Felicity said, grinning at Thea.

_The scene changed to the Lair, Oliver was sitting, alone in the dark, suited up. He was checking his quiver when Dig walked in._

"_Didn't expect to hear from you tonight. Something happen?" he asked._

_Oliver sighed. "I think you were right." He admitted._

_Diggle nodded. "Okay. About which part?"_

"_All of it." He ground out, then sighed again. "I should have listened to you."_

"I have a feeling that is a phrase I will be hearing often." Dig said wryly.

"_Oliver, you said you wanted to help her change." Dig said, walking around the table so that he face Oliver. "The thing is, she already did change. When her father killed her fiancé, she changed into something dark and twisted. You see that now, don't you?" he asked._

_Oliver slammed his quiver down on the table. "It's not that I-it's not that I couldn't see it, Diggle. I didn't-I didn't want to." He admitted. He looked up at him with almost a pleading look in his eyes. "I'm living a double life, and to do that, I'm taking all these people that I love and I'm putting them at arm's length. I'm giving up a lot, so maybe- maybe I thought the universe owed me one." He shook his head. "But I looked in her eyes tonight, and I can't stop her from going over the edge. She's-she's already past it."_

_The scene changed to a safe house somewhere on the docks. Zhishan was sitting around a card table with three of his men, playing poker, when suddenly the men's phones went off one after the other. One of the men finally answered. "Shénme?"_

"_Líkāi nàlǐ! Líkāi nàlǐ!" the voice on the other end said frantically. Before the men could do anything, though, The Huntress burst through the door. Instead of her crossbow pistol, she was packing her Glock and she executed two of the three bodyguards. The third tried to fight, but she quickly put him down with a broken arm and dislocated shoulder. She took his gun, then calmly got up and pointed both at Zhishan, who looked back at her calmly._

"_Dāng nǐ xúnqiú bàofù, xiān wā liǎng gè fénmù." He said simply. "Yīgè shì nǐ de dírén, yīgè shì nǐ zìjǐ."_

_Helena smirked at him. "I don't speak Chinese, so I'm just gonna assume you said good-bye." With that, she emptied both guns into the Triad leader. Once finished, she kneeled next to the wounded guard. "Tell your mistress Frank Bertinelli sends his regards." She said with a smirk, before rising and leaving the safe house._

Quentin sighed tiredly. "Great. Another gang war. Just what we needed."

"It might not be much of a war, if Bertinelli is a crippled as it appears he is." Malcolm said darkly.

_The scene changed to Queen Consolidated. Felicity timidly walked up to Walter's glass door. Taking a moment to compose herself, she opened the door and walked in._

"_Ahem. You wanted to see me, Mr. Steele?" she said. As he looked up at her, she rambled on. "Did I mention, it's almost Christmas, and many of the suicides this time of year are due to sudden and unexpected joblessness?"_

"_I want you to find out all you can about that notebook." He said, sliding the tan notebook across his desk towards her. "Where it was made, how it was purchased. And what it could mean." She picked it up, looking at it curiously._

"_Yes, sir." She replied at once._

"_Felicity," he said, catching her attention, "I asked Josiah Hudson, our head of security, to look into the same subject matter. He died the next day under questionable circumstances." He paused so she could take that in. "What I may be asking of you, this mystery, are you sure you want to do this?"_

_Felicity thought for a moment. "I hate mysteries." She said firmly. "They bug me. They need to be solved." She smiled at him and walked out of the office, leaving a concerned Walter with this thoughts._

Malcolm eyed the blonde speculatively. "You are a very tenacious woman, Miss Smoak." he said. she couldn't tell if it was a compliment or not.

_The scene changed to the safe house. The Hood walked in, taking in the carnage around him. He stopped at the final body, that of Zhishan. He kneeled down to examine him, then pulled out his phone and dialed a number._

'_It's Dig. What's the situation?' he asked on the other end of the call._

"_War." Oliver said simply._

_The scene changed to the Bertinelli residence. Frank was sitting at the bar when he got a phone call._

'_Boss, we just got word- somebody hit Zhishan. He's dead.' The caller said._

_Frank sighed. "All right. Then we know what's coming next. Tell everyone to strap up." He ordered, hanging up._

_Outside the house, guards were patrolling the ground. One stopped outside the pool and looked around. Spotting nothing, he turned-_

_Only top have China White pop up behind him, slitting his throat. _

"HOLY SHIT!" Thea screamed in surprise.

_As the man's body dropped, she looked at her compatriots._

"_Bù huì ràng rènhé rén huózhe." she ordered, and the crew moved silently on towards the house. One by one, the guards fell to the silent onslaught._

"I think you were right, Merlyn." Quentin said reluctantly. "This isn't a war; it's a slaughter."

_The man guarding the door started calling out for guards on his radio, and got no response. "Ricco's not answering his walkie." He called to the man behind him, who had already been taken out. "Check it out." He turned- only to be garroted._

_The Triad entered the house. While the rest fanned out on the ground floor, One headed up the stairs. As soon as he reached the top, he was struck in the chest by an arrow. The Hood Rushed forward, catching the man before he fell and lowered him gently to the ground. As gunfire erupted downstairs, he headed down to find Frank._

_In his office, Frank was running and ducking the fire. He made his way to his safe. He managed to open it, then grabbed Helena's laptop. He closed the safe, and then threw the laptop in his briefcase. He moved to escape when China White caught up to him. She pushed him against a stone pillar and held her knife, ready to slit his throat. _

"_Frank Bertinelli- this is for Zhishan." She lifted the knife- and it was knocked out of her hand by an arrow. She spun in surprise to see The Hood, who put an arrow in her knee, dropping the assassin. He nocked another arrow as Frank lifted his gun up at the vigilante._

"_Run." The Hood snarled, turning around and dropping another Triad member. _

"Damn. Should have put an arrow in him, too." Quentin said.

"Dad!" Laurel exclaimed.

_Frank ran, ducking and shooting as he struggled to make it out of his house. He made it out onto the yard and started running. He was passing his small duck pond and was halfway to the edge of the property, when suddenly a bolt slammed into his knee. Frank dropped to the ground, writhing in pain. Helena stalked up to her father as he rolled onto his back looking at who had just shot him._

"_Helena." He said, surprised. "What is this?" _

"_Payback for Michael. I know you had him killed; Salvati told me." She explained._

"_I did that to protect the family!" he shouted, but she paid him no attention._

"_I had to take everything away from you because you took everything away from me." She looked at the fallen man, a look of anguish on her face. You finally know what it feels like to find out, your own blood is responsible for the death of your entire world." She lifted the crossbow pistol, ready to finish it. Before she could pull the trigger, though, an arrow knocked it out of her hands. She spun to see The Hood there. Laughing in disbelief, she attacked him. He fought back, doing his best not to hurt her, wanting to end it peacefully._

_Frank, meanwhile crawled over to her fallen pistol and picked it up. As Helena kicked Oliver away and rose, she turned back to Frank-_

"_No!" Oliver shouted as Frank shot his daughter in the shoulder. He looked at her fallen body in satisfaction for a moment before Oliver ran over and knocked him out. He turned back to the moaning woman. "Helena? " he called out to her, but she slipped into unconsciousness. Hearing sirens, Oliver picked Helena up and carried her away, leaving Frank for the police._

"He's STILL trying to save her?" Thea asked, dumbfounded.

"No choice now. She knows who he is." Dig pointed out. He frowned suddenly. "And who I am. Great."

_The scene changed to the lair. Helena was laid out on a table, an anxious Oliver sitting at her side. Suddenly she gasped as she regained consciousness. _

"_Helena, easy. Easy." He advised. "You were lucky."_

"_Am I supposed to be grateful?" she snarled._

"_Helena—"_

"_He's a mobster. A criminal." She ground out as she forced herself upright. "Why would you save him?" _

"_I didn't save him." Oliver argued. "I saved you. You think that because you've killed, you understand what it's like to have blood on your hands. You don't understand." He explained. "You don't understand the toll that it takes on you, especially when it's your father."_

"_I'm not going to stop." She said with conviction._

"_The police have him in custody." Oliver announced. "He's going to jail and then on to prison."_

"_They don't have any evidence on him." She objected._

"_They do now."_

_Realization dawned. "The laptop." She said._

"_He's going away, Helena, for the rest of his life. This is justice." He stated._

_Helena got to her feet. "Then I guess you were right. I'm more interested in revenge." She headed towards the stairs. "Stay out of my way, Oliver, or I'll make sure your secret doesn't stay secret." She threatened._

_Oliver grimaced. He couldn't leave it like this. "Helena. What I did, everything that I've done, I've done because I care about you." He tried to explain._

_She looked at him balefully. "Too bad I can't say the same." She shot back, turning and walking up the stairs and out of the Lair, leaving a heartbroken Oliver behind her._

"I told you- bitch be cra-zay." Tommy said.

"You tend to go a little crazy when you loose someone you love." Slade said pointedly.

Tommy shot a look to his father. "Apparently."

_The scene changed to Big Belly Burger. Diggle walked in and over to Carly._

"_Hey, you." He said with a smile. "Thanks for the call."_

"_What are ex-sisters-in-law for?" she joked. He moved on towards a far booth where Oliver sat, drowning his sorrows in… _

"_Mm. Chili cheese fries with jalapenos." Dig noted, taking a sip of his water. "Hmm. That's a cry for help if I've ever seen one."_

"That also sounds really good-" she stopped as a red streak raced into and out of the room faster than she could blink. She sniffed as a familiar smell hit her nose, then nearly jumped off of the couch as sown on the table in front of her was a plate of chili cheese fries with jalapenos.

"Talk about fast food." Laurel quipped as Felicity happily dug in.

"_Ahh… I don't know what hurts worse, this or getting shot with a curare-laced bullet." Oliver joked._

"_Been there, done that." Dig replied. "Definitely the bullet." Diggle sighed and sat down across from the man. "You know, Oliver, I'm no expert at this, but I don't think love is about changing or saving a person. I think it's about finding the person who's already the right fit." He glanced up at Carly at the counter, who smiled. "One day you will." He assured the man._

"_I think I burnt that particular bridge." He said, laughing darkly. "Napalmed it, actually."_

"_So things didn't work out exactly as you planned. You did save Frank Bertinelli's life. He'll be doing time for a while. Justice wins out." Dig pointed out._

"_Helena doesn't see it that way." Oliver said sadly._

"_You opened up, took a risk with your heart. The Oliver I met a few months ago would not have been able to do that." He noted. "And when you meet the right person, you'll be ready for her." Oliver smiled, then passed the fries to Dig. Diggle reached out towards the fries, then changed his mind and grabbed the water instead. Both men laughed in camaraderie._

"I just wish that when he was opening up, he'd left my name out of it," Dig complained jokingly.

_The scene changed to Q.C. Walter was again working late, trying to catch up, when Felicity walked into his office. Without a word, she began turning off lights._

"_What are you doing?" he finally asked._

"_It needs to be dark in here for me to do this." She replied, then closed her eyes in embarrassment. _

Moira sent an amused look to Felicity, who swallowed her fries heavily.

"Sometimes I shouldn't say words." she complained.

_"If I had had more time to think of that sentence it wouldn't have sounded so dirty." She handed him the notebook. "Look."_

_Walter took the book and flipped through it. "I don't see anything." He said._

_Felicity pulled out a pair of glasses. "I got these from applied sciences." She explained. "They're able to pick up the sub-visible variations in the UV spectrum." She powered up the glasses and handed them to Walter, who put them on. "Now look at the book again." She said, and when he did, he saw a list of names, suddenly visible. He looked through the book, stunned._

Malcolm looked at Felicity again. "You clever girl." he complimented.

_The scene changed to Queen Manor. Oliver was in the sitting room, staring out the window as the rain fell when Raisa led Tommy in. He caught his reflection in the window and turned to face him._

"_Hi." He said._

"_Now, look, I'm sorry about last night." Tommy began. "It just—"_

"_I let it get too far sitting at the same table." Oliver interrupted. "That was... that was stupid."_

"_No. I was stupid." He sighed. "I haven't been entirely honest with you." He admitted, then plowed on before he lost his nerve. "My dad cut me off. He froze all my funds. I am living on fumes." _

_Oliver looked at him, stunned. "Really?" he said after a few moments. "Why didn't you say anything?" he asked._

"_Embarrassment, shame, jealousy, probably a few other emotions I'm not used to feeling." Tommy replied._

"_Tommy, my trust fund is your trust fund."_

"_No." He said firmly. "That is the easy answer. And believe me, I have loved easy answers. What I need is a job." He continued to Oliver's amazement. "I'm trying to change. Not sure into what yet, but I don't want to be what I was anymore."_

"Congratulations on finally pulling your head out of your ass." Thea said, tossing a grin at Tommy. He merely rolled his eyes in reply.

_Oliver considered his friend for a moment. He didn't say it out loud, but he was very proud of Tommy in that moment. "It just so happens," he said, "that I have a general manager position that is available. You're probably the guy for the job."_

"_Will I be getting dental? This smile wasn't cheap."_

"_I'll look into that."_

"_Thank you." Tommy said, giving Oliver a manly hug. "Thank you." He repeated sincerely._

"_You're welcome." Oliver replied. The two parted and Tommy looked at Oliver._

"_You okay?" he asked._

_Oliver sighed. "I will be."_

_Tommy gave him a knowing look."Something happen with Helena?"_

"_We had a falling out. But I have a feeling that I will be seeing her again."_

_At the edge of the city, Helena rode on on her Harley to an uncertain future._

"Well." Laurel smiled. "That was every bit the disaster we all thought it would be."

"Amen, sister." Thea said. She then looked over at Felicity. "Hey, pass the fries; I want-" a red streak zipped through the room once again, leaving another plate of fried on the table. "Huh." she said., picking up a fry. "Never mind."

**TBC 12/28**

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** That little blurb about Sara wrecking a car- that is actually a true story of a friend of mine from high school. He bought a used car off a guy, and on the way to get it inspected managed to wrap it around a utility pole. Oops.

**A/N 2:** Also, I feel the need to apologize for this chapter. To set this up a bit, I write both at home, and at work when I'm on break. But at work, I need to transfer the file from my flash drive to my work computer before I can add to or edit it for some damn reason. When I wrote this chapter, I did that at work- then forgot to transfer the completed file back to my flash drive. As such, when I uploaded this chapter, Only 2/3 of it was done. All of the dialog after the restaurant scene between my characters, I had to type in. And while I think i improved it somewhat (Flash cameo!), I'm not sure if I did enough. But it's late, I'm tired, and it's too late to do any substantial re-writes. Hopefully, this is the only chapter like this.

**Mandarin Translations:**

All Clear

Get in the car

Kill him!

What?

Líkāi nàlǐ!: Get out of there!

when you seek vengeance, dig two graves. One for your enemy, and one for yourself.

Leave no one alive


End file.
